Waylon
by Betty More Fishe
Summary: A Waylon is a magical creature who is dependant on affection to survive, so why is one all alone just inside the Forbiden Forest? Who is the mysterious creature with the feathery wings of an angel? Can Harry save this Waylon from dying of lonliness?SLASH
1. Chapter 1

Control. Everything was always about control, and for once, he didn't seem to have any. A single comment from one of the other Slytherins was all it took for him to lose all semblance of belief in his hard won control. He had ran away, to terrified of the emotions that were rushing to the surface. He ran to the one place he knew it wouldn't matter if he lost control because no student would willingly go there, the Forbidden Forest. He ran and ran till he was so lost in the dark forest he might never find his way out, and his chest was constricting and he could barely breath, and he just let go, stopped trying to stay in control.

The second his control slipped away, it was like the flood gates had been open. He let out a cry of pain as he was suddenly overcome with magic that was so strange but oddly familiar. His heart let out a pang of loneliness as he fell to the ground. Suddenly he screamed in pain as something ripped free of the skin of his back, between his shoulder blades. As he finally let tears trail down his face he found himself falling into the welcome darkness of oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2: All Alone

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley had just been visiting with their friend Hagrid in his Hut on the edge of the castle grounds, when the ground shook like something very VERY large had just started moving about the forest. Curious, they all rushed outside to see if they could see what was causing the shakes. It was as they were peering into the Forbidden Forest that a centaur came galloping towards them, stopping in front of Hagrid the Centaur said, "Grounds keeper, I request that you get your leader to meet with us of the forest, there are important matters to discuss."

Hagrid sputtered, "What's going on?"

The Centaur glanced back into the suddenly too quite forest and said, "A youngling has gone into transition, it came from the school."

Hagrid went wide eyed, and he turned to the Golden Trio, and asked, "Harry, can you send a patronis to Dumbledore, tell him its an emergency."

Harry nodded and quickly did as he was told. His stag had only just ran up into the castle minutes before when the doors to the castle opened and Dumbledore came running down with Snape and McGonagall came running out. Hagrid had questioned the Centaur, but the half man had refuse to say anything until their leader got there. When Dumbledore arrived, a little breathless he asked, "What's going on."

The centaur put a fist to his chest and gave a half bow before saying, "We believe one of your younglings is a Waylon child. The youngling came from your school into the forest and after letting out a cry it went into transition."

No one had ever seen Dumbledore shocked into silence. Hermione suddenly piped up, "It can't be a Waylon, the last known Waylon was born two centuries ago."

The centaur raised an eyebrow and said, "I know of no other creature with so much energy."

Harry frowned and asked, "What's a Waylon?"

Ron said, "Waylon are kind of like Veela, only more powerful."

Hermione sighed and said, "People think they are like Veela because like Veela they mate for life and they commonly sprout wings, but they are much more like elder Dragons. They are very powerful and it's said that their healing magic is only rivaled by a phoenix's tear."

Ron glared at Hermione and said, "And they are said to be beautiful and they can use the Allure, just like a Veela."

The centaur said, "That does not matter. What matters now is that the Waylon is dying."

Hagrid let out a gasp of horror and McGonagall asked, "What can we do?"

Hermione asked, "Is it all alone?"

When the others gave her a questioning look she said, "One of the few well known facts about a Waylon is that they are affectionate dependant creatures, especially during their transition. Normally both parents will wrap around the offspring for the duration of the transition and will not leave their side until they are bonded to their mate. If the Waylon is all alone…Then I don't know what will happen."

The centaur nodded and said, "That is why I asked to speak with your leader, we of the forest cannot bare to sit back and do nothing while the youngling dies… but, there is nothing _we_ can do to help it. You on the other hand can, perhaps not you specifically, but one of the other younglings, is it not a high honor to be bonded to a Waylon. It would not even have to be a full mate bond, just a promise not to leave it alone till it can find its mate."


	3. Chapter 3: Bond's of Freindship

Dumbledore sighed and asked, "What all would be necessary to complete this bond?"

The centaur smiled like it had already won a large victory, and said, "Simple physical contact should be enough to solidify a bond."

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Snape and McGonagall, "Please do a check, try and figure out if any of the students are missing. Do either of you object to me borrowing these three students?"

The two Professors shook their head and headed back to the castle to check on their students. Dumbledore sighed and his shoulders sagged for a moment before he turned to the Golden Trio and asked, "I hope I am not being to presumptuous when I assume at least one of you would be willing to volunteer?"

Hermione frowned and asked, "We don't have to… Mate… with whoever it is, do we?"

Dumbledore smiled and said, "The bond our friend here speaks of is more along the lines of a friendship bond. It is but a promise that should they, whoever they are, be in dire need of a friend, you will not turn them away. It can later develop into a mate bond but only if both parties choose to further the bond willingly and consciously."

Hermione smiled and said, "Like he said, it is the highest honor to be bonded with a Waylon. I'll do it Professor."

Dumbledore smiled at Hermione and said, "Thank you Ms. Granger, and how about you Mr. Weasley and Mr. Potter? The choice is yours."

After only a second of thought Ron said, "Well if Hermione is doing it, I will too. I grew up hearing stories of Waylon and how powerful they are. It's said they can bring someone back from the brink of death."

Dumbledore smiled and said, "I have heard similar stories, thank you Mr. Weasley. How about you Harry?"

Harry nervously chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, and looked deep into his two friends' pleading eyes before he nodded his head in consent. Dumbledore clapped his hands and said, "Excellent! Now my dear friend, would you mind leading us to our fallen comrade."

The Centaur gave a small bow once more and began leading the way. Dumbledore at his side, the two quickly fell into a quite conversation, as though they had know each other much longer then they had. The Golden Trio cautiously fell in step behind them, with Hagrid just a few steps behind them. Hagrid gave Ron a pat on the back and said, "It's a right good thing you all are doing. Beautiful creatures, those Waylons, and so powerful they put a dragon to shame. It's not right to leave 'em all alone, not right. Wonder what happened to it's mum and da'."

Hermione said, "They have to be dead, or ells they wouldn't let their offspring be alone during transition, it's not in their nature."

Ron frowned and said, "The centaur, he said that it's someone from the school, I wonder who it is."

Harry added on, "I wonder if we know them, whoever they are."

They all fell into silence as they thought this over. It was getting dark quick, the last rays of the sun barely peaking through the thickening branches overhead. Slowly it got darker and darker until they were all tripping over roots and hedges because they couldn't hardly see, but then suddenly they could. The Golden Trio gasped in shock and held hands up before their eyes to shade them from the blinding light coming from the center of the clearing. It reminded them all of the few encounters they had had with unicorns, only as the light slowly began to fade so they could see the source, they were shocked to find a crumple form encased in a pair of white feathery wings, which seemed to be the source of the glow. Dumbledore and the centaur were standing off to the side, staring at the creature in the middle of the clearing and when the three glanced over Dumbledore quickly ushered them over to the creature.

Hermione waited only a moment before quickly cutting the distance between herself and the still hidden creature. All she could see was the wings, that seemed to be wrapped entirely around the creature, like a cocoon. She wanted to be close to this glowing, radiant creature, but as she got within a few feet her steps faltered and she paused. Ron, who had been right on her heals, nearly plowed her over, before quickly falling in beside her. He stared in awe of the creature, and found that he was frozen, unable to move closer and farther away.

Harry after a moment's pause, brushed past his two friends, his shoulders touching each of theirs for only a secant before he quickly knelt beside the creature and without even the slightest hesitation he reached out and petted one of the soft feathers. He didn't know why, but he could practically feel how lonely the Waylon was, and it reminded him so much of how he felt growing up with the Dursley's, and he couldn't bear to leave the creature all alone with that pain.

As his fingers brushed over the, oh so soft, feathers, a spark of warmth spread up his arm straight to his heart. He felt himself smiling as he continued to pet the feather beneath his fingers. Ron and Hermione, seeing the faint glow spread from the feather to their friend who was smiling like they hadn't seen him smile in a long time, finally got their courage.

Slowly Hermione stepped forward and dropped down to her knees next to Harry, and cautiously reached out and timidly ran her hands over a few silver feathers. She shuttered at the sweat trickle of warmth that ran from where she was touching the creature to every other part of her. Ron circled around and fell to his knees on the other side of the creatures, and after glancing at his two smiling friends reached out and a bit clumsily stroked a few feathers that looked almost gray.

The Golden Trio continued to pet the soft downy feathers till the glow that had admitted from them slowly began to fade. When the glow was practically non-existent, Dumbledore cleared his throat and said, "Thank you, Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter, if you'll come with me, Hagrid's going to take the Waylon to the hospital wing, Mr. Nolan here…" Dumbledore indicated the centaur before continuing, "Has informed me that it may be some time before the Waylon wakes, but that it is stable. I'm afraid as it is now past curfew, I can no longer keep you here."

Slowly the Golden Trio pushed themselves to their feet, and with a few fleeting glances over their shoulder, they followed their headmaster back to the Castle.


	4. Chapter 4: The Sad Truth

They were almost to the Castle doors when McGonagall came running over, in a bit of a panic, "Is he alright?"

Dumbledore smiled and said, "You know who the Waylon child is?"

McGonagall let out a small sigh of relief at seeing the smile on the headmaster's face, surely the Waylon would be okay if the headmaster was smiling like that. McGonagall sagged and said, "I'm afraid that I do, but it's not good news."

Dumbledore's smile slipped away as he frowned in concern and Ron asked, "How can it not be good news if you know who the Waylon is?"

Hermione grabbed the red heads arm and admonished, "Ron! That's no way to talk to a professor."

Harry asked, "Who is it?"

McGonagall frowned and said, "Perhaps we should all head up to the headmaster's office. We can all sit down and talk in private. Severus is up there now, I'm afraid I may have insisted he have a seat and calm down after he gave me the news."

Ron looked like he was going to say something but Hermione put her hand over his mouth and said, "That's a splendid idea, we'll follow you Professor."

McGonagall gave a small nod and she and Dumbledore quickly led the way up to the headmaster's office. They were all a bit surprised when they discover Snape sitting in the corner, his head in his hands, it was the first time the Golden Trio had ever seen Snape anything less than the straight back, up-tight and proper Potions Master. He looked more human than he ever had. Dumbledore quickly went to his side and asked, "Severus, are you alright?" when that seemed to elect no response, Dumbledore asked, "What can you tell me about the Waylon Severus?"

Snape, forced himself to sit up straight with a small and steadying breath, he glanced at the other before his eyes locked with Dumbledore and said, "I'm afraid this might be partially my fault Albus, I never should have left him alone."

Dumbledore sighed and as he sat behind his desk he said, "Severus, I'm sure this is in no way your fault, you couldn't have known he was a Waylon."

Severus suddenly sagged once more, like he had a weight to heavy to lift on his shoulders and said in a quiet voice, "I shouldn't have left him alone."

Dumbledore sighed and giving up on Severus as a lost cause for information, he turned to Professor McGonagall and said, "I take it the Waylon is a Slytherin."

McGonagall ushered the Golden Trio into the chairs littering the office, before taking one herself and saying, "Yes Albus, and it couldn't be a worse situation. I'm afraid we might have to hush this whole thing up."

Dumbledore frowned and said, "Why so?"

McGonagall glanced at her three students and pierced her lips before asking, "Albus, are you sure it's wise they be involved. It's not that I do not trust my students, they are the some of the most courageous and kind I've ever had, but… this Waylon, he's a Slytherin, and considering their history and intense inter-house rivalry, I don't know if it's wise."

Hermione sat forward and said, "Professor, if I may speak?" She paused only long enough to receive a nod from Dumbledore then turned to Professor McGonagall and said, "I don't know who the Waylon is but I do know he's all alone. Even if his parents died long before he ever knew them and he has adjusted to being alone, right now it's going to be fresh, like it just happened yesterday. I've read everything there is to read about Waylon and they are creatures of affection, and no matter who it is I promised to at the very least be there for him when he wakes up. He just went through a very painful transition, and even if I don't like him personally, or if I don't agree with his point of views, I can't just go back to the Gryffindor Common room and pretend like I don't care, that this never happened. I won't just sit back and leave a creature who right now is practically defenseless and hurting, to die all on his own, because that is what will happen if the three of us just leave him. We bonded, and even if it is only a bond of friendship, that is the only bond this newly awakened Waylon has right now, it would be like leaving an infant out all alone in the middle of a forest right before a snow storm."

McGonagall gave Hermione a small smile and said, "Very heartfelt speech, Ms. Granger, please remember it. I'm sure you, at the very least, will be understanding about this."

Ron let out an outraged cry and said, "I'm not that much of a git, that I'd leave a defenseless Waylon after just bonding with them, even if you told me it was bloody Snape under those feathers. The bond was a promise of friendship, Dumbledore told us that before we went into the forest. I don't go back on my promises, no matter how much I might want to."

McGonagall Gave Ron a small smile and said, "Noble sentiments Mr. Weasley, remember them."

Harry said, "We're not the type to go running away from something, even if it seems unpleasant, it's not in our nature."

McGonagall let out a small sigh of relief and said, "I'm glad, because Mr. Malfoy could use all the friends he can get right now."

Ron let out a horrified, and slightly indignant, "M…Malfoy?"

Harry let out a disbelieving, "That was Draco under all those feathers?"

Ron looked at his best mate and asked, "Since when is _Malfoy,_ Draco?"

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "_Draco_ helped me pass potions class this year. I told you at the beginning of the year we were assigned as partners, and he hasn't intentionally botched a potion or called Hermione a Mudblood all year."

Ron's indignation seemed to dim a bit at that and he seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Now that you mention it, he hasn't insulted me or my family in months. Hell I haven't even seen the git outside of class in over a month."

Hermione and Harry frowned at that, they too had not realized that outside of class Draco had been practically invisible. Severus suddenly said, "That's because Draco couldn't risk a fight breaking out."

Dumbledore frowned and asked, "What do you mean Severus? Draco is an exemplary student, a valued member of the quiditch team, and a perfect. He's on my list for a potential Head Boy. He has had a few scrapes in the past but he's never even been on probation."

Severus looked up and said, "The only reason he wasn't put on probation after those last few fights broke out between him and Potter was because his Father was a member of the board. His Father's was sent to Azkbane, tried and convicted of being a Death Eater and was hospitalized after a fight broke out between inmates. His father isn't in a position that he can even write a letter to his son, let alone get him out of trouble for a petty school yard fight."

Dumbledore frowned and said, "But surely Narcissa would not allow Draco to be put at risk."

Severus looked down and said, "Narcissa killed herself."

There was a moment of shocked silence, that was finally ended when Dumbledore said, "I didn't know, when did this happen?"

Severus slouched further, and his voice was strangely rough and almost brittle as he said, "I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but I do know Draco was the one to find her."

McGonagall let out a small gasp, and Dumbledore asked, "When was this?"

Severus seemed to take a moment before he said in a voice that sounded almost broken, "Draco's birthday, he begged me to let him use my flow to go home and have tea with her."

Dumbledore had completely lost the twinkle in his eye, and he asked in a softer voice, "Why did you let him use your personal flow? I thought you told me you never allowed students access?"

Severus ran a hand through his hair and said, "Draco was a bit upset that morning, said that he walked in on Pansy and Blaise and just didn't want to deal with all the gossip in the Snake Pit. He said I owed him for forgetting his birthday last year and that he just wanted to pop in and see his mother for an hour and that no one would be the wiser."

They all stared at Severus in shock, as the Potions Master began to shake faintly. Dumbledore seemed to take pity on the poor man and said, "Perhaps you should go down to the infirmary and get some rest Severus, I'm sure when Draco wakes up he'll want to see you composed."

Severus shook his head and said, "I'm fine." Then he shuttered and said, "Merlin that's what he said. He said he was fine, and I believed him. He just lost the only person he can call family, and I left him."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "Severus, Draco is a very good actor, I'm certain he put on quite a show to make you believe that."

There was a long awkward silence that seemed to stretch on for far to long as they all contemplated these new facts. Finally the silence was broken when Hermione asked, "How can he be a Waylon? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't see how it's possible, unless one of his parents concealed being a magical creature, which I highly doubt."

* * *

><p><em>Author's Notes<em> If you Like this story, or one of my others, please go to my profile and Vote on which stories I should spend more of my time on


	5. Chapter 5: Gabriel's Hope

They all considered this for a moment, and began to doubt, till Severus said, "Narcissa couldn't carry a child for the full term." He paused to take a small steadying breath before continuing, "They had tried for a long time to have a child and Narcissa had eight miscarriages and two stillborns. Lucius paid a lot of money to get Narcissa in to see all the best and most renowned Med-witches and wizards, but they all said the same thing. That she would never be able to have her own child. They were close to giving up all hope when one Med-Wizard told them jokingly that their only shot of being able to carry a healthy child to full term would be if they found a Waylon willing to give Narcissa an egg for her womb."

Severus fell silent, obviously thinking that explanation was enough, and Ron asked, "How'd they manage to get their hands on a Waylon egg?"

Severus snorted and said, "I shudder to think how Lucius acquired it, all I know is that they were both very adamant about it staying a secret, they only told me because I served as Narcissa's Med-wizard throughout the pregnancy, she was quite ill and I had to constantly brew her different potions, and then I was Draco's Godfather, and they felt that it was in Draco's best interest, should they ever pass, that he know how much trouble they went through to bring him into the world, and that his name was a tribute to the Waylon mother who 'donated' her egg."

Harry frowned and said, "Shouldn't we have known before now, given that information, that Draco was going to be a Waylon?"

Hermione shook her head and said, "Draco wouldn't have shown any signs, not if he wasn't interacting with his Waylon parents magic growing up, he never would have shown any signs till his transition, and since the transition normally happens around the age of fourteen Draco should have already gone through it. There were a few cases where a Waylon had a child with someone who was not their mate, and if the child didn't go through transition by the age of sixteen it was said it was a safe bet the Waylon gene would not show up, but even then at least one full set of genes was from the Waylon, I've never heard of a case like this."

Dumbledore sighed and said, "Very well, I think we should end here for the evening, you all have classes in the morning. I'll go check to make sure Hagrid got Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary alright. You all should get some rest, I'm sure Draco will wake up tomorrow."

Two days and the little bundle of feathers hadn't moved. The Golden Trio had stopped by after classes both days, and had sat next to the little Waylon. Madam Pomfrey had encouraged them to pet the Waylon and talk with it, and they had wondered if the med-witch knew that Draco Malfoy was in the middle of all those feathers. They knew it was Draco, he was the only one missing. Pansy and Blaise had been all worried about how Draco had suddenly ran off into the forest, they had even gone to Dumbledore and asked if he could have someone start looking for Draco. It was on the third night they had come to see Draco, that Neville arrived in the infirmary with some sort of burn. Neville had taken one good look at the ball of feathers and said, "Oh, what a beautiful Waylon, looks a lot like my great aunt."

The Golden Trio had turned to Neville and Hermione had asked, "Your great Aunt's a Waylon?" When Neville nodded Hermione asked, "Can you contact her and ask her for help? We don't know what to do, he's been like this for three days, he hasn't moved."

Neville frowned and asked, "He's all alone?"

The Golden Trio nodded and Neville said, "That's so sad, Aunt Gail won't be able to come but I'm sure her husband Gabriel will head right over once he hears there is a newly transitioned Waylon all by itself."

The next day was a Saturday, and the Golden Trio had just sat down for breakfast when McGonagall came over and said, "Neville's uncle is here, he said he'd like you three to meet him in the infirmary."

They wasted no time, quickly running up the by now familiar steps to the infirmary. Bursting into the back room of the infirmary where Draco was being kept, they all were a little shocked to see the man standing next to Draco's bed. He was handsome in a way only older men could be, with a strong jaw covered with whiskers in the same salt and pepper as his hair. He looked like he was some sort of heavy weight competitor, the muscles on his arms as thick as trees. He gave a small smile, showing pearly white teeth and his silver eyes glittered with emotion as he said, "So you're the three who have a friendship bond with the youngling, I thank you for that, he would have died if you hadn't."

Hermione blushed and said, "We couldn't just leave him. Are you Neville's uncle?"

The Man held out his hand and said, "I'm Gabriel, Neville's great Aunt Gail is my mate." Hermione took his offered hand with a smile and said, "I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. How is Draco?"

The man shook Harry and Ron's hands, his face not showing any recognition at the names as he glanced back at Draco and said, "I'm afraid I just got here not to long ago, but it's not good. We Waylon are not meant to be alone, especially not younglings. This youngling, Draco, he has been without contact of our kind so long his Waylon magic had completely receded, in fact on some level he must have been repressing it."

Hermione frowned and asked, "How would he repress it?"

Gabriel gestured for them to have a seat in their usual chairs as he took one across from them, he sighed and said, "Waylon magic is much like wild wizarding magic, normal a Waylon channels the magic by channeling their emotions, but it appears as though this youngling managed to suppress his emotions and cut off the connections between the magic."

Hermione asked, "Have you ever heard of anything like this happening before?"

Gabriel frowned and said, "Only once, when I was but a youngling myself. A Waylon child managed to suppress his Waylon magic so deeply that he delayed his transition, and made the whole thing all the more painful. This seems to be similar to that case, but I'm afraid it doesn't add up. The Waylon child I was speaking of had been orphaned and the family that adopted him severely abused him, to the point that he was truly self loathing."

The Golden Trio was silent for a moment, surprisingly Ron broke the silence with a mumbled, "He's a Malfoy."

Gabriel frowned and asked, "What was that?"

Ron glanced at his friends then squared his shoulder and said, "Draco was born and raised a Malfoy, their whole family motto is to never show emotions. Mum said once when I was little she was worried Lucius was abusive, but nobody ever saw him do anything, other than occasionally yell at him."

Gabriel frowned and asked, "Why did your mother suspect that Draco was being abused?"

Ron ducked his head and Harry said, "He treats his house elves terrible, beat them and hexed them in public."

Ron nodded and Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, "So his father had a negative view on emotions and magical creatures, that alone might have been enough to do this kind of damage, but if he was ever actual cruel to Draco…. I don't know if I'll be able to help if it's that bad."

Hermione asked, "What happened to the Waylon who was abused?"

Gabriel gave a sad smile and said, "He was in this same state for about a month before he just withered away. I have hope though, that this will be different."


	6. Chapter 6: Who's Draco?

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated this story but I hit a block and I felt like it would be better to leave it and come back later when I was in a better mood to do the story justice, I think that's a good think because I don't think the story would have come as easy if I had forced it to come to me instead of gradually working on it in the back of my mind for a while. I would also like to make a few notes on the story, first hessonite is a gemstone with a sort of coppery color that I find very appealing and sapphire is a very beautiful blue stone that is really shinny like a diamond. I went through dozens of other stones before I chose these two and I quite like them, if you don't know what they look like you might google it, they are very pretty and sort of unique. I was surprised that I had never heard of hessonite before I wrote this part of the story and although I had read a few stories that mentioned sapphire I had not realized that they were blue and quite beautiful although the writing had hinted as much. _

After instructing the three Gryffindors to pet the creature, Gabriel smiled down at the feathery bundle as he too reached out and gently touched one soft white feather. A glow began to spread from Gabriel's fingers to the rest of the feathers and Gabriel cued softly, "Such beautiful wings, I would love to see the face behind these majestic wings. I promise you it's safe to come out. I won't let anyone hurt you. We all just want to see you. Can you feel the bonds? These three have bonded in friendship with you. If you come out, they'll be here for you. I'll be here for you. You won't be alone anymore."

The golden Trio all gasped as one when the wings twitched ever so slightly, the first sign of life they had seen. Gabriel smiled and whispered, "Yes, don't be afraid, your safe here and I'll make sure you're never alone, Never. It has been so long since a Waylon child was born, we are all so excited to see you. Perhaps after you come out and are stable, you could come with me to visit my wife, she has always been desperate to have a child but we did not meet until it was too late for her to have children. She would love to see you."

The glow brightened a bit and the feathers twitched once more. The Golden Trio were riveted, and they felt a spark of hope. Gabriel gave a small smile at their excited and hopeful expression and Hermione felt a wave of strength and courage go through her at the sight of the other man's own hopeful expression and she whispered, "I'm here for you too, I know we've never been friends before, but I won't leave unless you ask me to."

Gabriel gave Hermione such a blindingly bright smile that she felt herself a bit awestruck. Harry glance between his wide eyed friend and the smiling older man and manage to say, "Hermione's right, we're here for you, we won't leave unless you ask us to."

Ron glanced at his two friends and added with a slightly resigned sigh, "we'll stay even if Madam Pomfrey tries to kick us out, if you want us too, it's not right to leave a Waylon all alone."

The glow seemed to brighten and grow more and more, till everyone in the room was blinded by it, seeing nothing but the white golden glow surrounding them like a warm blanket of happiness. For a moment the golden trio forgot everything that often plagued their thoughts, things that they hadn't even realized had been go through their subconscious mind, self doubts and sadness they never realized they had been feeling till they were no longer there.

Hermione felt safe and secure like she normally only felt when she was surrounded by books and immersed in facts, yet she also felt that warm and tingly feeling in her belly she had only ever felt before when immersed in her parents embrace, and she felt beautiful and perfect even more so than she had the night of the Yule ball fourth year.

Ron felt giddy like he did after the first time he had ever won a game, chess, quidditch, he felt like he was truly loved and respected and that he was important and not just one of those Weasley children, and he didn't have that guilty worried feeling that he was poor weighing down his happiness.

Harry had never felt anything quite like this, he had never felt like he was truly loved for who he was, sure Ron and Hermione where his best friends and made him feel better about himself but they didn't love him, for everything he was. He felt exhilarated like he only did when he was chasing the snitch and nearly had it in his grasp, and he felt safe and warm like nothing, not even Voldmore could hurt him. He felt like he was special and important, but not because of the scare on his forehead but because of who he was.

They all felt so loved and cherished and warm and happy. It was easily the best moment any of them had ever had in their life. Even the realization that this moment of happiness was somehow created by the Waylon magic and the bond of friendship they shared with Draco Malfoy did not dampen the pure feelings. Nothing this good could come from someone truly evil as they had once believed the boy to be in their ignorant schoolyard rivalry. They felt like the magic was somehow cleansing them of all their negative emotions, it wasn't like it was erasing them or removing them, simply allowing them the option of letting them go and accepting the healing the bond was offering.

Slowly the glowing light began to fade, the light seemed to linger a bit around each of them individual like it had somehow gotten inside them and made them just as radiant as the feathery wings they could feel beneath their fingers. As the glow finally faded and they started to come back to reality and feel the now lighter weight of their worries, they realized that the wings had shifted slightly, they hadn't completely opened but they had moved enough to reveal the slightly familiar white blond hair and silvery-gray eyes, but they were different, not the same as they remembered.

The white blond hair looked less blond and more white, similar in color to that of a unicorn's fur and it was a bit longer and ruffled in a way they had never seen it because Draco had always kept it so perfectly groomed. His silver-gray eyes had lost the gray that had had somehow made them seem cold like stone and his eyes now glowed like pools of silver mercury with a fem little flecks of hessonite and sapphire circling the pupil like rings of priceless gems that had been painstakingly laid to be exactly the same distance from the edge of the silver pool and the large Onyx pupils. His eyes looked more like a living piece of the best goblin jewelry money could buy then actual eyes.

Pale lashes lowered delicately and only once they had completely closed did the Golden Trio manage to look away from those orbs and take in the rest of the newly revealed face of the Waylon. His skin was pale, but instead of looking like he was ill or like he had never seen the light of day like he had once appeared, it now seemed like his skin was glowing like a pale moon, natural and completely unblemished, even the tiny scare that had harry had once noticed on the boy's chin was no longer present.

He seemed less pointy and angular, almost like someone had taken a paint brush and softened his edges, and although he looked quite healthy he still had small dark circles under his eyes and small lines of tension and wariness marred the perfection of his face. They only got a clear look at his face, because his wings were still wrapped about his body like a protective blanket, only cutting off just barely below his chin, so they couldn't see what other changes had occurred to their once rival.

They were mesmerized by the beauty, sure Draco had always been pretty, but before his personality had always been so brash they had never really even noticed it, but now that his beauty was practically taking their breath from their chest, they couldn't not notice it. They might have just sat their all day, staring in slack jaw admiration of such a beautiful creature, if Draco's face hadn't scrunched up for a moment before he opened his eyes once more, and seemed to actually look around and see his surrounding for the first time. His brows creased and his nose scrunched up as he looked about with a sort of dazed expression his eyes finally landed on Gabriel who was the only one still touching him, since the golden trio had dropped their hands in shock minutes ago, and who was smiling gently with a patient expression that said he wouldn't move away unless Draco asked him to. Draco blinked, once twice then asked in a slightly horse and very quite whisper, "Who are you?" Before Gabriel could even open his mouth to answer with the polite response he had planned Draco looked about with a growing sort of panic as he asked, "Where am I?"

Gabriel expression was changing rapidly, and Hermione finally reached out and touched Draco's soft wings to get his attention, once Draco had met her eyes, she asked, "What's the last thing you remember Draco?"

Draco blinked several times and then asked in a whisper they wouldn't have caught if the room weren't so absolutely silent, "Who's Draco?"


	7. Chapter 7: Hearing a Flower

The panic in Draco's voice was evident as he asked, "Who are you people? Where am I?"

Draco started to sit up and he was glancing at the door like he wanted to bolt. The Golden Trio were just in too much shock to even think, but Gabriel was calm as he reached out and put his hand on Draco's shoulder, Draco immediately turned to look at him and Gabriel said, "You are Draco Malfoy, I am Gabriel, we share a bond, can you feel it?"

Draco calmed down and gave a slight nod. Gabriel gave him a small smile and without taking his hand off of Draco's shoulder he pointed to Harry and said, "This is Harry Potter, you share a bond with him too. Can you feel it?"

Draco stared at Harry really hard and he looked like he was either going to cry or freak out. Gabriel gripped Draco's shoulder a little tighter and glanced into Harry eyes then looked at his hand then looked at Draco's hands before looking back up, Harry nodded and very carefully reached out and took Draco hand. Slowly Draco calmed down, and Gabriel asked again, "Can you feel the bond?"

Draco glanced to Gabriel with wide fearful eyes, but he slowly looked down at Harry's hand then back at Gabriel and nodded very slowly, like he wasn't a hundred percent sure. Gabriel smiled and said, "This is Hermione Granger, you share a bond with her too."

Gabriel looked to Hermione and Draco followed his gaze. Hermione looked startled to see Draco Malfoy look at her with scare eyes that showed no sign of recognition at her name, but when Gabriel pointedly looked at the points of physical contact, Hermione quickly reached out and grabbed Draco's elbow. Draco looked a bit startled by the sudden movement, but Gabriel softly asked, "Can you feel the bond?"

This time, when Draco nodded, it was a bit more confident if a little hesitant. Gabriel smiled and gave him a comforting squeeze before saying, "And this is Ron Weasley, he too shares a bond with you."

Everyone turned to look at Ron who was staring at Draco in shocked disbelief, like he expected him to disappear or perhaps disappear behind those soft wings once more. Gabriel smile turned a bit brittle as several long moments passed where Ron didn't budge or even blink, he wasn't sure Draco could handle it if one of them rejected him and the fragile bonds they shared at the moment. He could barely feel the bonds at the moment, and they were all that Draco could recognize without his memories, It was all he would know. When the panic began to slowly well up in Draco's eyes once more, Hermione gave a gentle squeeze and slammed her foot down on Ron's. Ron winced at the Pain but that seemed to be what was needed to jump start his reaction, he jerkily reached forward and hesitantly grabbed Draco's free hand, blushing brightly and ducking his head.

And then, something truly strange and shocking happened, Draco smiled. It was faint and just the slightest upturn of the corners of his mouth, but there was true emotion behind it unlike any other expression they had seen on the boy's face before. The Golden Trio just stared in shock, and the smile began to fade but Gabriel stepped in and said, "Draco, we're here for you, you're not alone. Can you tell me what you remember, anything you remember? It's okay if it's not much even something little could be helpful."

Draco chewed on his lower lip and glanced around the room, finally he said hesitantly, "I remember a forest, I was running…"

Gabriel frowned and asked, "Were you running from something or where you running by yourself?"

Draco's brows drew together and he fidgeted a bit, before finally said uncertainly, "Both."

Ron frowned and snapped, "How could it be both?"

Draco flinched like Ron had hit him instead of just raised his voice a bit, Hermione glared at Ron and gave Draco's arm a comforting squeeze said, "You were running from yourself."

Draco gave a slight nod and asked Gabriel, "Does that help you?"

Gabriel nodded his head and said, "Yes Draco that is very helpful. Is there anything else you can remember, a smell, or a sound?"

Draco looked down at his hands and nibbled at his lip, it was obvious he was trying very hard to remember. It was a few minutes before he said, "I was afraid… of feeling, the emotions were too much, too strong."

Gabriel gave Draco gently pulled Draco closer to his chest and said, "It's okay Draco, your safe now, you're not alone anymore."

Draco frowned and said, "There were flowers."

Gabriel could feel Draco shaking under his hand, it was hurting him to remember, but whatever he remember could really be important. He tried to comfort him and pull him closer so he could feel the small bond they shared simply by sharing the same magic, he might not be a blood relation but he was still family and as such they shared a faint traceable bond. Draco nodded in gratitude for the small comfort the bond gave him. Hermione, who had quickly caught on how important what little Draco remembered could be, asked, "Did you see the flowers, or smell them?"

Draco shook his head and said, "I heard them."

Hermione frowned, completely puzzled, how could someone hear a flower, but when Draco started to get upset, she smiled and said, "Alright Draco, thank you, that was very helpful, can you remember anything else?"

Draco shook his head and said, "No, I'm sorry, that's all I remember."

Gabriel gently patted Draco's shoulder and said, "that's okay, Draco. Are you hungry or thirsty? Is there anything you would like to eat something?"

Draco gave a tiny nod, but his eyes were drooping, like he was exhausted and only keeping his eyes open out of pure will alone. Gabriel called for Madam Pomfrey, who walked in with a small tray with a single piece of plain toast and two glasses, one filled with clear water and another filled with a red-orange liquid. Gabriel nodded to her and thanked her quietly as she sat the tray on Draco's lap. She gave Draco an expectant look and Draco glanced to Gabriel, who nodded encouragingly before he hesitantly picked up the piece of toast and brought it to his mouth. He took a tiny bight of one of the corners and swallowed. Madam Pomfrey positively beamed and Gabriel was smiling fondly as he asked, "Would you like some water, or juice?"

Draco looked like this was the hardest decision he had ever had to make, but finally he said hesitantly, like it was a question, "juice?"

Gabriel smiled like that was the decision he had been hoping Draco would make, and helped Draco hold the glass in his own slightly shaking hands, and bring the glass to his lips. Draco took a few small sips before pushing the glass away. Gabriel smiled and said, "That's good Draco, you can rest now, I'll stay here, but they have to leave."

Draco's eyes went wide and his voice was fearful as he asked, "you're leaving?"

Gabriel tighten his hold on Draco's shoulder and said, "It's alright Draco, they will come back, they just have classes to attend and they have to eat too, they'll come back later this evening. You won't ever be completely alone, okay?"

Draco nodded slowly relieved and a bit sad that they had to leave at all, but they would be back so it was okay. Gabriel nodded his head and gently released Draco's shoulder, the Golden Trio quickly did the same, releasing their grip on Draco. Draco laid back, his eyes already drifting close as his wings wrapped around him, once more glowing softly if a bit faintly.

When the glow finally faded, Draco's wings where almost in the exact same place they had been before, almost as if nothing had changed. Gabriel let out a small sigh of relief and said, "We've made excellent progress, we even got him to eat and drink."

Ron frowned and said, "He barely took a bight of toast, how can that be good?"

Hermione glared at Ron and Harry said, "If he had eat much more it probably would have made him ill."

Everyone looked to Harry in surprise and Madam Pomfrey said, "You're right, he hasn't eaten in weeks and there is literally nothing in his stomach. It's a miracle that he even managed to keep down that much juice."

Ron said, "Oh… um, can he really not remember anything?"

Gabriel said, "he was not trying to deceive us, if that is what you are asking."

Harry frowned and asked, "Is that normal?"

Hermione shook her head and said, "I don't think it is, what I want to know is why it happened. The Centaur said he fell, perhaps he hit his head."

Gabriel said, "I believe it is a coping mechanism and not the result of any physical damage."

Hermione asked, "Are you certain? What if he has a concussion?"

Gabriel shook his head and said, "No, the transition Magic would have healed any physical damage, I've seen many Waylon children recover from physical trauma and wounds that would have killed any other creature because they started Transition early. Any damage, scars, cuts, bruises, everything would have been healed."

Hermione's eyes lit up and she said, "You think this is the result of mental damage, don't you. If sever physical trauma triggered a transition in a child, then suffice to say a mental trauma would also trigger the transition."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Waylon magic can heal almost anything, but I think the magic recognized that the only chance Draco had of surviving whatever traumas was to give him some time without the weight of the trauma. He might start to remember gradually or he might not remember anything at all before his transition until we can discover what the only remaining memory is?"

Harry frowned and asked, "Isn't the memory of right before he transitioned, his friends say he ran into the Forbidden Forest, and that's where we found him."

Gabriel shook his head and said, "I'm almost certain that it's a different memory, if anything the memory of right before his transition he should have felt overwhelming sadness and loneliness, not fear. The chances of that actually being the memory are so slight it's not even calculable."

Hermione nodded and said, "I think you're right, so our only chance of figuring out Draco's memory, is figuring out about the flowers he said he… heard."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Yes, perhaps we should ask my Neville, he knows more about plants than anyone I've ever met, my wife finds it fun to look for rare books on plants just to see if she can find one Neville hasn't read, but first, I believe you three have classes to attend."

Hermione gasped and looked at her watch, before exclaiming, "Oh no, we're going to be late to Potions!" before running for the exit, she paused outside the door and asked, "Will he be okay?"

Gabriel nodded and said, "I'll be here with him for every second, I doubt he will even be aware of anything for quite some time, he is actually truly asleep at this moment."

Hermione nodded in relief before racing off, and Ron and Harry groaned before rushing to catch up to their friend.

After dinner, the Golden Trio grabbed Neville and dragged him with them up to the infirmary. Gabriel was lying back in his chair with his feet on the end of the bed and a small book in his lap. He smiled when they came in and his smile brightened when he saw Neville. Neville smiled and asked, "Uncle Gabriel, any luck?"

Gabriel nodded and said, "We managed to get him to come out for a bit and got some food and juice in him, but…"

Hermione said, "He's got a sort of amnesia, all he can remember before waking up, was running in a forest and hearing flowers."

Neville nodded and asked, "Did he say what they sounded like? There are thousands of plants that make distinctive sounds but only a hundred maybe two hundred that have actual flowers."

Ron blushed realizing that Draco had been telling the truth when he said he _heard_ the flowers. Gabriel smiled and said, "He didn't say, but I think he's starting to wake up."

They all glance to the feathery wings that didn't appear to have moved or change since they had left this morning, Gabriel just smiled brighter and said, "His magic started shifting the moment you three walked into the room."

Gabriel sat forward, dropping his feet to the floor as he placed his hand on his wings which almost immediately began to glow. Neville gasped in shock, and slowly the wings began to rustle before once again slowly moving down to reveal Draco's face as he blinked groggily. Gabriel smiled as he gently took Draco's hand and asked, "Draco, do you remember this morning?"

With the hand Gabriel wasn't holding Draco rubbed at his eyes as he nodded his head. Gabriel smiled and asked, "Do you remember what the flower's sounded like, perhaps what type of flower they were or even what impression you got from them?"

Draco frowned as he thought back and tried to remember clearly, the memory felt like it was from so long ago. He closed his eyes to try and remember better, before finally saying, "It was loud and it sounded sad."

Hermione sat down in her usual chair and placed her hand on Draco's leg as she asked, "How did you know it was a flower?"

Draco pressed his hand to his temple and his face scrunched up like he was in pain, finally he said, "I'd heard them before, I'd seen them many times before, but I can't remember when or where."

Neville stepped forward and asked, "Was it a wail, or crying, or something else?"

Draco frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

Gabriel smiled and said, "This is my great-nephew Neville, he's going to help us."

Draco nodded and said, "It sounded a bit like they were crying but not like a person would."

Neville nodded and asked, "If I brought you some pictures of flowers, would you recognize them?"

Draco nodded, and Neville asked, "Could you tell me anything else you remember about them, any impressions they gave you?"

Draco frowned and said, "For some reason they reminded me of me, but I don't know why they were all so bright, reds and blues and greens and purples."

Neville smiled and said, "That's very helpful, thank you Draco."

Draco frowned and asked, "Do you know me?"

Neville went a bit wide eye, obviously not expecting that question or perceiving a way to answer without upsetting the boy. Gabriel squeezed Draco's hand and said, "Neville is your classmate, as are Ron, Hermione, and Harry."

Draco nodded and Gabriel asked, "Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

Draco nibbled his bottom lip and said, "I didn't like that."

Gabriel frowned and asked, "The toast? I can get you something else, perhaps some soup? I personally love soup; my wife makes it for me whenever I'm not feeling well."

Draco nodded, his eyes lighting up with excitement at having something to share with one of his bonds, even if it was something as unimportant as food. Gabriel smiled approving of the spark of life he saw in the young boy's eyes as he called for Madam Pomfrey who came in with the same tray as before, but this time a small mug of a slightly steaming cup, a small spoon, and again two glasses, one with water and one with the same red-orange juice. Madam Pomfrey smiled as she placed the tray on Draco's lap and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Draco blinked surprised by the question, he glanced to Gabriel who smiled and gave him an encouraging nod, before he said "I'm good, a bit cold, but good."

Madam Pomfrey said, "Oh, you poor dear, I didn't even realize it was colder in here."

She immediately pulled out her wand and placed several warming spells about to room. Draco stared at her wand with wide eyed shock and horror, like she had pulled a knife and threatened him with it instead of a wand. Madam Pomfrey quickly noticed it and put her wand away, and Gabriel said, "It's all right Draco, your safe here. Here, have some soup."

He grabbed the spoon and carefully filled it up with a small bit of golden brown liquid, and held it to Draco's lips. Everyone watched in rapt silence as Draco leaned forward a bit and quietly slurped up the small spoonful. Gabriel smiled and he asked, "Do you like it?"

Draco smiled that same tiny smile from before, but this time there was a sort of joy and happiness in his eyes. Gabriel's voice was filled with his joy and excitement at coaxing out that small smile "It's good isn't it, I had a bit before and hoped you would enjoy it as much as I did. Think you can handle a bit more?"

Draco nodded again, and managed three more spoonfuls before he winced and clutched at his stomach. Gabriel said, "Sorry, that might have been a bit more than you could handle, would you like to sit up a bit, perhaps have a go at standing up?"

Hermione frowned and said, "Are you sure it isn't too soon, he just woke up this morning for the first time in weeks, perhaps we should wait till …?"

Draco smiled and said, "I'd like to try, I'm tired of lying down."

Gabriel beamed and quickly helped Draco sit up in the hospital bed before he pulled his legs so that Draco's feet were touching the ground. Gabriel then took Draco's hand's into his own and let the boy do the rest of the work. Draco gripped Gabriel's hands tightly as he slowly forced his body to obey and stood on slightly shaky legs.

Draco stood for a few short minutes before he turned quite pale and Gabriel had to quickly help him back into bed before he could collapse. Draco looked a bit upset that he couldn't stand longer but Gabriel smiled and said, "You did wonderful."

Draco smiled gently and Gabriel said, "Go ahead and sleep for now, I'll be here the whole time and I'm sure your class mates will be here when you wake up again."

Draco nodded and shifted to his side before his wings began to glow and wrap about him protectively. The glow brightened for a minute, blinding them all before fading and leaving them with that now familiar warm feeling.

Neville gasped out, "Is it always like that?"

Gabriel smiled and said, "Waylon magic is naturally healing but Draco's magic is far stronger than most younglings I've ever met."

Neville nodded with a slightly dazed expression and Ron asked, "Do you have any idea what kind of flower he's talking about?"

Neville shook himself like a dog shaking off water, then said, "Actually I'm pretty sure I do."

Hermione looked surprised and asked in a slightly disbelieving voice, "Really? He didn't really give you much to go by."

Neville smiled and said, "He actually gave us more information than he realized. I'm almost certain I know what flower he's talking about but I'm going to wait till I can get some pictures, so he can confirm I'm right, before I tell you."

They nodded, even though the suspense was killing them and Neville asked, "Can I meet you guys down here the same time tomorrow? I'll bring a few different books of pictures just to be sure I'm not influencing his decision, but from what he said I'm almost certain I'm right."

Hermione smiled and said, "Thank you Neville, You can go ahead and go if you want, I think I'd like to stay with him a bit longer."

Neville nodded and left with a small smile. Harry and Ron nervously took their usual seats. Hermione smiled at them before turning to Gabriel and asking, "Do you think Draco will be okay?"

Gabriel's smile was sad as he said, "I hope so, but I'm afraid I won't be certain till his memories return,"

Hermione nodded and they sat in silence for a long time before the golden trio had to head back to their common room because curfew was fast approaching.

_Author's Note: So what do you think? I'll tell what type of flower it is in the next part, just wanted to put a bit of suspense in the story to keep my readers interested. Please Review, and I'll update soon._


	8. Chapter 8: Sharing Chocolate

The next morning, when they arrived at the Infirmary just before breakfast started, which was too early for any decent human being to function in both Ron and Harry's opinion, they were surprised to find that Draco was already awake. The blond was sitting up, with the help of several white infirmary pillows behind his back, propping him up, and a thick ancient book was opened towards the beginning, rested on his lap. For a long moment they just stood in the doorway and watched as Draco's eyes slowly traveled over the page and after a moment Draco paused and glanced to Gabriel. Gabriel smiled as he felt Draco's gaze and without looking up from his own novel he asked, "What part don't you understand?"

Draco glanced down at his book and asked, "How are we bonded?"

Gabriel smiled and asked, "Are you wondering how we can share a family bond, when we are not actually blood related?"

Draco nodded and Gabriel said, "Well you see, a Waylon cannot form any magical bonds before their transition, they just don't stick once the transitional magic goes through their system. Normally family bonds are created between a parent and a child after the child transitions and the parent shares their magic with their child to wake them from the slumber induced when the transition magic goes starts running through their system. Since neither one of your parents were present after your transition, and since I shared my magic with you to help you wake, your Waylon magic accepted me as family in your parents place. Waylon's are not meant to be alone, so the magic does not care whether we are actually kin or not, it sees me as your parent."

Draco nodded his head in understanding and his gaze dropped down to the floor as he nervously played with the edge of the blanket that was wrapped around his legs. Gabriel placed a small leaf between the pages of his book before closing it and asking, "What is it Draco?"

Draco nibbled nervously at his bottom lip and his hands clenched and unclenched on the edges of the sheet before he asked quietly, as though frightened of how Gabriel would react, "Where are my parents?"

Gabriel's face was the picture of sorrow and regret as he reached out and touched Draco's leg just above his knee in a comforting gesture, before whispering softly, "I'm sorry Draco, but your mother passed away and your father… he has a lifelong sentence in Azkaban, I don't think you will ever get to see either of them again."

Draco hesitantly looked up into Gabriel's eyes, as though assessing whether he was telling the truth, and when he saw the sadness in the older man's eyes he gave a small smile, that Harry had seen too often on his own face to not recognize that it was false, as he said in a forced optimistic voice, "It's okay, I don't remember them anyway."

Gabriel gave Draco a sad smile and pulled him into a gentle hug, which Draco returned hesitantly as though he was uncertain how to properly return a hug. Gabriel's smile was less brittle when he finally pulled out of the hug and turned to gaze at the door. Draco followed Gabriel's gaze and the golden trio gasped when Draco's face lit up with a genuine smile at the sight of them. Hermione was the first to gather her composure as she walked over to her usual seat and she quickly plastered a bright smile on her face and said, "Draco, it's good to see you awake and sitting up. What are you reading?"

Draco smiled as he gently flipped the book so that she could see the cover while carefully using his finger's to hold his place and said, "Gabriel brought it with him, said it would be good for me to read the facts about us myself and ask questions if I don't understand parts."

Hermione's eyes lit up with excitement as she read aloud, "A Guide for Newly Transitioned Waylon. Wow, that sounds quite fascinating, where did you get it, I've never even heard of it."

Draco beamed and Gabriel said, "I have another copy if you would like to read it yourself."

Hermione nodded her head enthusiastically her eyes wide and alight with excitement, her entire demeanor screamed how delightedly happy she was at the prospect of getting her hands on a book. Ron and Harry, who had slowly made their way over, took their seats and Harry asked, "How are you feeling this morning?"

Draco smiled and said, "I'm good, how are you feeling?"

Harry blinked in surprise at the question and replied honestly, "I'm feeling much better now."

Draco's smile brightened for a moment before falling a bit as he asked, "When's your first class?"

Hermione glanced at the clock and said, "Not for another half hour, but we need to eat breakfast, we just wanted to check in and see how you were doing, we'll stay longer this evening."

Draco looked sad but he gently nodded his head in understanding. Hermione smiled and patted Draco's leg comfortingly. Harry hesitantly asked, "Have you eaten anything today yet?"

Draco glanced to Harry and nervously bit his lip for a minute before shaking his head and saying, "Every time I eat it makes me sleepy, and when I woke up you weren't here yet, so…"

Harry smiled and said, "That's alright, I was actually going to suggest you try some eggs for breakfast, I love eggs from breakfast."

Draco's face lit up and Hermione, who had immediately caught on to Harry's intention by the comment, quickly added on, "I love egg for breakfast, so does Ron, we all love eggs."

Draco's smile was huge and hopeful as he glanced to Gabriel and asked hesitantly, "Is it okay if I have eggs for breakfast?"

Gabriel beamed and said, "That's a wonderful idea, I was worried what to get you for breakfast since they've already run out of soup in the kitchen, I had some eggs earlier and they were quite good." Draco's entire face lit up and they had never seen him smile so big or look so truly happy.

Hermione patted Draco's leg once more, before saying, "We have to leave now, but we'll be back this evening. I can't wait to hear whether you like eggs too."

Harry patted Draco's arm and said, "I hope you like them."

Ron finally caught on and quickly tacked on, "Yeah I hope you like them, we'll have something in common."

With that the golden trio left the infirmary to head down to the great hall for breakfast, all of them anxious to see whether their ruse had worked and Draco managed to eat more than a few tiny bights. The rest of the day passed in a blur, and luckily Hermione remembered that Neville was going to meet with them, as both Ron and Harry had forgotten and she quickly found him in the library after dinner before they headed to the infirmary. When they entered the infirmary they were surprise to find Draco curled into a ball his head in his arms, his wings hiding his face as silent sobs wracked his chest. Gabriel was making quite calming noises as he gently ran his hand over Draco's wings. Gabriel's normaly optimistic face was etched with worry, much like it had been when he first learned about Draco's parents, which put them on edge faster than Draco's current state had.

Hermione rushed over and asked in a frantic voice, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Gabriel looked up at her with sad eyes and Draco curled up in a tighter ball, as though he was trying to hide himself from view. Gabriel let out a small weary sigh, before saying quietly, "It turns out Draco is allergic to walnuts, hazelnuts, fish, and most of all he is severely allergic to eggs. Madam Pomfrey had to use several spells to remove the contents of his stomach and to lower the swelling while Severus forced a potion down his throat that made him quite ill, he's been like this ever since."

Hermione's eye filled with tears and she said, "Oh Draco, I'm so sorry, we didn't know…" When her words only cause the sobs to come faster she quickly added, "But don't be upset, there are so many things that we all enjoy that you haven't tried yet. Like chocolate, we all love chocolate, and there are so many different kinds of chocolate so if you don't like one there are others that we enjoy just as much."

Draco's chest stilled and he lifted his head enough to peak out at her with red eyes brimming with tears as he asked, "Really?"

Hermione smiled and said, "Oh yes, and it's not just chocolate and we all like peppermint snaps, and trickle tarts, and pudding. There are so many things that we like even more than eggs if you just take the time to try them."

Draco nibbled his lip, and although he still looked nervous, the despair he had been projecting since they arrived had dissolved and once again they all began to feel the warmth that Draco's Waylon magic provided. Ron, Harry, and Neville, who had stayed just outside the door because they were unable to handle the emotions he had been projecting, they hesitantly moved forward. Hermione pulled Draco into a hug and said, "Draco, I'm so sorry, we should have know you were allergic."

Draco hesitantly wrapped his arms around Hermione and said, "It's alright, I didn't even know how could you?"

Hermione laughed as she pulled back and rubbed the moisture from her eyes, she hadn't realized how much Draco's despair had been effecting her until it finally broke. She suddenly smiled impishly, and as she pulled her bag onto her lap she asked Gabriel, "Is it okay for him to eat after taking those potions."

Draco glanced from Hermione's bright face to Gabriel's curious one as Gabriel slowly gave a nod. Hermione's grin brightened even farther, if that was possible, as she began to dig through the contents of her bag, and she said sheepishly, "I keep a couple chocolate frogs in my bag ever since third year, I used to carry chocolate bars until I found out Luna was allergic to milk and that's when I read an article in Witch Weekly that said besides being wonderfully delicious chocolate frogs have both potions and spells mixed in that make them hypo-allergenic, even people who are allergic to coca can eat them."

Ron asked, "You keep chocolate frogs in your bag? Since when?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and said, "This is exactly why I didn't tell you Ron, you would have gobbled them up."

Ron turned red in embarrassment, and Harry and Draco both snorted at the same time. Draco blushed when Harry glanced towards him, and Harry couldn't help but think Draco looked cute with his cheeks tinted red, a voice in the back of his head said he wouldn't have hesitated to shake this Draco's hand if he offered it in friendship. Before he could think of it any further, Hermione shouted triumphantly, "Here they are!"

She held up a large square wooden box, that definitely would not have fit in her bag had it not been for several space charms. Hermione quickly opened the lid revealing two rows of five chocolate frog boxes. She smiled timidly as she pushed several thick locks of hair behind her ear and said, "I thought maybe we could all eat one together."

Gabriel gave Hermione a bright encouraging smile, and Draco's eyes were wide with emotion as Hermione handed him one of the boxes. Draco took the box in slightly shaking fingers and stared at it like it was the most precious thing he had ever seen. Hermione smiled as she handed a box to Gabriel, a box to Harry, a box to Neville, than took a box for herself before handing the rest over to Ron snatched it from her excitedly, and quickly tore open one of the boxes, snatched up the frog before it could even think to leap away and bit off its head. Hermione laughed as she carefully opened her own box and Neville mumbled 'thanks' before slowly opening his own box.

Harry quickly thanked Hermione as well, but was too focused on Draco to open his own box. Harry absently noticed that although Gabriel had opened his box and was nibbling at his frog, his eyes were still focused on Draco, and his lips were twitching up at the edges. Draco looked up when Hermione let out a moan when she bit into the chocolate, his eyes darted around, taking in Ron and Neville's pleased expression, before his eyes landed on Harry. Draco blushed when his eyes caught Harry's and quickly dropped his gaze to the box as he slowly began to pull at the edges. Harry smiled as he began to open the box in his own hands but he never took his eyes off of Draco as he slowly opened the box. He was surprised when the frog tried to leap away free, how fast Draco caught it. Draco looked at the frog with wide eyes than glanced up at the others again, his eye stilled when they met Harry's and Harry smiled as he slowly brought his own frog to his mouth and bit off it's head. Draco blushed, but followed his example and brought the frog to his mouth before hesitantly taking a small bight out of its head. His eyes widened a moment later when he caught a taste and he lost all hesitance as he began to nibble away at the frog's head. By the time Draco had ate an entire bight everyone else had already finished there's.

Hermione smiled and said, "If you can't finish it, that's okay, the box has a preserving charm on it so you can save some for later."

Draco smiled in relief, but as he went to put the frog back into the box he noticed movement and he hesitantly pulled out the card. Draco's eyes widened and he suddenly dropped the card as if it had burned him. His breathing suddenly sped up and his face scrunched up in pain as he clutched at his head. Gabriel frowned and asked, "Draco?"

Draco let out a breath and suddenly it was like he had pulled a mask on, his face and eyes were completely devoid of all emotions as he placed the card and the frog into the box before closing it up and setting it on the farthest edge of the bed. Gabriel frown deepened, and that worried expression was working its way onto his face. Hermione also seemed worried, but she quickly covered it up with a smile as she asked Draco, "Neville brought some pictures of a few different flowers, do you think you could look over them and tell us if you recognize any of them as the flower you remember hearing."

Draco nodded his head and Neville quickly pulled out a notebook with sketches of different flowers on each page. Draco slowly flipped through the notebook, spending almost a minute looking at each sketch. They all fell silent as they watched with bated breath. Draco tapped the image on the last page and said, "This one reminds me of it, but it's not right."

Neville looked at the image and asked, "What about it reminds you of the one you remember."

Draco frowned as he looked down at the image, his hand traced over the lines of one of the pedals and he muttered under his breath, "Andromeda, Aries, Bellatrix, Carina, Delphinus, Draco, Gemini, Hydra, Indus, Lucius, Mensa, Narcissa, Orion, Perseus, Taurus."

Gabriel frowned and asked, "Draco, what do those mean?"

Draco put his hand to his head and said, "I don't... I can't…"

His hands were shaking as he closed his eye, his breathing was irregular. Gabriel gently took Draco's hand into his own and said, "It's okay Draco, you don't have to push yourself, we'll try again tomorrow, okay."

Draco handed Neville back his notebook and pulled his hand out of Gabriel's as he rolled onto his side and curled into a ball, his wings wrapping around him and completely obscured him from view. Gabriel looked worried as he said, "Draco, I'm going to step outside for a minute, but I'll be right back, and the others will come back in the morning."

The bundle of feather did not respond in any way, and Gabriel ushered them out of the infirmary with a wave of his hands. When they were outside and Gabriel had closed the door behind them, he turned to them and said, "He's remembered something. Those words he repeated back, they are important to who he was before his transition. I suggest you ask your professor if he knows what they mean."

Hermione frowned and asked, "You mean Professor Snape? Why would he know anything about it?"

Gabriel raised and eyebrow and said, "You may not be on good terms with you Professor, but he did know what Draco was allergic to, and he knew what Draco was, a family secret as he explained it, is it not safe to say to say he might know more about Draco's previous self than we do."

Hermione sighed and said, "Your right, Professor Snape might know something we don't, although I do have an idea of what he was talking about. I'm going to go talk to the Professor right now, before I forget the names he said, Neville I know you're terrified of Snape, but please come with me, he might be able to help us figure out what flower Draco's is talking about."

Neville's eyes were wide and he turned to Gabriel and asked, "Will you come with us?"

Gabriel shook his head and said, "I can't leave Draco alone right now."

Harry said, "I'll stay with him."

Gabriel glanced at Harry then to Neville's desperate pleading expression, than sighed and said, "Alright, but Harry, you have to stay with him till I get back, he can't be alone."

Harry smiled and said, "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream of leaving him all alone."

Ron frowned and said, "I'll stay with Harry."

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed Ron's arm, dragging him with her as she led the way down to the dungeons.

_Author's note: Alright so, I've had a few people ask me if this story was going to lead to smut, and I can't decide. I normally do write smut, it's sort of my specialty, but I don't know if I want this story to be about smut, because right now it's more a hurt/comfort story, and if I did put smut in it would be way later. I Don't Know what to do, so I'm asking you, should I add smut later on? I've already kind of got it set up so that it could go that way, but if some of my fans are completely against it… I'll hold off and try and keep it just a hurt/comfort friendship story._


	9. Chapter 9: Missing Draco

Severus Snape first reaction when he saw Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley standing outside the door to his personal chambers just before curfew was anger and excitement; Anger that these two Gryffondors had the audacity to actually knock on his door this close to curfew and excitement because he was certain one way or another he could manage to give them detention and take quite a few house points from them. Then his eyes had drifted back to fall upon Neville and the man who had save his godson, the man who was looking after his godson like no one ever had, putting him before themselves. As he took in their expressions he forgot about his previous emotions and felt worry beginning to set in like a slow acting hex, "Is Draco alright?"

Hermione took the initiative, since both Neville and Ron looked like they wanted to flee, and said, "Yes Professor, Draco is alright, but we need your help if we are to help Draco regain his memories."

For a moment Severus just stared at her, his expression completely blank, which seemed to unsettle both boys, but then his eyes narrowed and his gaze turned calculating, which was a common expression when dealing with Slytherins. Eventually Severus held the door open for them to come in. Hermione had to drag Ron in, and Gabriel followed just a step behind, with Neville hesitantly taking up the rear. They were all a bit surprised to find that Snape's private rooms where not decorated in Slytherin colors, nor where they decorated like his classroom, dark and horrifying. No, Snape's courters where furnished is shades of brown, the walls were done in beige, the floors were a dark cherry wood, with several russet rugs with gold edging. There were two chairs and a loveseat surrounding the fire made of soft leather the color of chocolate. It was not at all what they were expecting, nor was the roaring fire that made the room toasty warm.

As soon as the door had closed behind them Severus turned on them and practically snarled, "What exactly is it, that you need my help with?"

Hermione jumped a bit at the venom, but she quickly squared her shoulder, took a deep calming breath and said, "As you have probably already heard, when Draco woke up he had no recollection of who he was, and only one memory prior to waking up in the infirmary. Gabriel believes that the only way to restore Draco's memory entirely is to discover what the memory is of, what it's about and what it means. Draco told us about the memory, he said he was in a forest, running, and he could hear a flower. We've already established that the memory is likely prior to his transition in the Forbidden Forest. We thought that if perhaps Draco could identify the flower he was talking about we could discover the location of his memory, so we asked Neville for help. He managed to get a few images of likely flowers together and we showed them to Draco."

At this point Nevilled handed the notebook over to Hermione who quickly flipped it to the image Draco had paused on, and handed it over to Severus as she said, "When he saw this image he said it reminded him of the flower from his memory but that it wasn't right, and then he muttered, 'Andromeda, Aries, Bellatrix, Carina, Delphinus, Draco, Gemini, Hydra, Indus, Lucius, Mensa, Narcissa, Orion, Perseus, Taurus.' And when we questioned him on it he shut down, we were hoping perhaps you could tell us what that means and perhaps help us figure out what the flower is in Draco's memory."

Severus stared at the image of the flower before he asked, "Did he say anything else about the flower."

Neville hesitantly said, "He said that it sounded like they were crying but not like a person would, and they reminded him of himself even though they were all different colors."

Severus sighed and handed the notebook back to Hermione, before walking over to a cabinet as he asked Gabriel, "Would you care for a drink?"

Ron looked gobsmacked as he watched Severus walk over to a cabinet and with a swish of his wand it opened and two glasses of amber liquid floated to his hand, before the cabinet closed on it's own without anyone having gotten a good look at exactly what was inside. Gabriel took the offered glass and they both took a seat in the chairs near the fire. Hermione quickly sat on the couch next to Severus and said, "You know, don't you? You know what he was talking about and you know what type of flower he was talking about."

Severus stared into the fire for a moment as he took a sip of his liquid. After a long moment of silence Severus turned his gaze to Hermione, his eyes narrowed in a glare and he asked, "Why is it so important that he remembers? Perhaps it would be better if his memories stayed forgotten."

Gabriel leaned forward and said in a quite solemn voice, "If the Waylon magic did not feel that he could bear the weight of his memories in time, than it would not have left any memories for him to use to piece together his past."

Severus closed his eyes as he gently shook his head and said, "In light of his current condition, I do not think it is possible to 'bear the weight of his memories', let alone advisable."

Hermione said, "It's not a condition, being a Waylon is as much a part of him as being a Witch is part of me."

Severus snorted and asked, "If your parents had taught you your entire life that magic was evil, the work of the devil, would you still have come to Hogwarts, would you still have bought a wand if it meant becoming the one thing your parents hated and feared above all else. You certainly would have at least hesitated, even if you didn't believe their words."

Hermione frowned and asked, "I don't understand the premise of your hypothetical sitation let alone what it has to do with Draco."

Severus continued speaking as though he had not heard her, "Now what if your whole life your parents had taught you that you are only worth the purity of your blood. What if they had taught you that magical creatures were worth less than then a rusty bottomless cauldron, less than a hexed broom, less than mud. What if you parents ingrained in you since birth that you were perfect, but only because you were a rich, smart, and most importantly a pureblooded wizard. What if you believed your parents. They told you not to touch that vase or you would get hurt, and they were right. They told you to stay away from those dirty redheaded children because they'll hurt you, call you names and maybe even hit you, and they were right. They told you to stay away from that boy, because he'll be just like his father and shun any kindness you offer, and they were right. They told you not to take a class on beasts taught by a beast, because you'll only lose house points and get hurt and they were right. They told you that the only way to make friends was to buy them, and to always keep the money flowing or they will turn on you, and they were right. What if your parents told you that werewolves were dangerous, that they might seem like good people, they might even treat you well in class, but when the moon rises they show their true colors, and you wished so much they were wrong, because even though he obviously favored other students he still treated you well, he still helped you overcome your fear, but then he nearly ripped your throat out, and you realized your parents were right again. Then what if the first time you ever had a crush on a girl, she made you so happy and she was just so beautiful, but when your parents found out that girl was a quarter Veela, your mother voiced for the first time how disappointed she was in you for being so naive as to have believed you truly had feelings for a girl who was so obviously using her filthy creature allure to try and swindle you, because creatures like that will do anything to get their hands on your money. You wanted so much for her to be wrong, prayed she was wrong, and the next time you saw that beautiful girl she asked you to take her shopping, asked you to buy her all sorts of expensive things and you realized that once again your parents were right. They told you so many things, and they always seemed to be right so you can't help believing what they say is the truth. You believe it when they say that those creatures are worth less than mud. Would you be able to handle it if you be able to handle it then if you found out that you were one of those creatures?"

Hermione had tears in her eyes as she said, "I didn't know… but surly his father made an exception for Waylon's, most pureblood families do."

Severus shook his head and said, "The Malfoy family is very old fashioned, any creature or muggle blood was considered tainted, and for generations they even tested their potential wives to be certain that they were pure-blooded without even a trace of muggle or creature blood in their system."

Hermione bit her lip as she tried to fight back the tears that were welling up. She had suspected as much, she had heard Lucius and Draco rant about how much better purebloods were but she hadn't really understood what that would mean for Draco now that he was what his father would consider a creature. Hermione for the first time began to wonder if perhaps it would be better if Draco didn't remember. It was then that Gabriel said softly, "I'm afraid that one way or another Draco is going to get his memories back, and it would be better if we were there for him when they do come back. I believe with our help he may be able to find a healthy way to cope with his memories."

Severus sighed, he had suspected as much, and his only hope of helping his godson was telling them secrets he had sworn never to reveal. Severus took a long swallow of the fiery liquid to fortify himself, before saying softly, "Malfoy Manor was built around a garden, not just any garden but a garden that was once connect to the realm of the fae, as you can imagine this is a well hidden secret, and I was only informed of the fact when Lucius named me Godfather. Other than myself and the Malfoy's the only people that ever knew this fact where the Black family, simply because they are so closely tied to the Malfoys, even before Lucius and Narcissa got married."

Severus now had the others undivided attention as he went on with a little less hesitance, "Every lunar year a different flower grows within the walls of one particular garden in Malfoy manor, and although the other gardens grow all of the flowers all the time, none are as vibrant and as powerful as the flowers that grow within these walls. Most Malfoy's are named after the flower that bloomed during their birth and occasionally if a very powerful wizard is born than their flower might bloom more than once. The most common to bloom flowers are Andromeda, Aries, Bellatrix, Carina, Delphinus, Draco, Gemini, Hydra, Indus, Lucius, Mensa, Narcissa, Orion, Perseus, and Taurus, but since Draco's birth only his flower has bloomed. It was both a blessing and a curse for Draco, for when Lucius was in his rational mind he would rejoice that he was blessed with a son so powerful that his namesake continued to bloom, but when Lucius was not in his rational mind, which he never was if he had even a drop of liquor in his system, he would grow so furious with his son for making only his flower bloom and depriving everyone else of the joy of seeing their own flower."

Hermione had given up fighting back her tears as she asked, "That's horrible."

Severus shook his head and said, "It would not be so bad if Draco was like all of his ancestors before him, cold and practically heartless, but Draco was never either of those things. He felt more in a single breath than Lucius has in his entire life. Narcissa and I, we tried so hard to protect him, and I hoped, prayed even, that perhaps outside of Malfoy Manor he would flourish and be able to freely express his emotions, but I'm afraid the opposite happened. He was promptly labeled the ice prince, because he so rarely showed even a hint the emotions he thrived on as a child. Since he came to Hogwarts I've only ever seen flashes of emotions that should not be there, fear, sorrow, and anger. I tried to get him to show some real emotions on so many occasions but it was as though he had stamped them out, I even tried, once or twice to try and look in his mind to find some way to free him from the prison he created, but he had somehow managed to not only block his emotions but his mind."

Hermione was pressing her face into Ron's shoulder in an attempt to hide her tears, as Ron asked, "You mean like occlemancy?"

Severus shook his head and said, "No, even when someone is using occlemancy you can still get a glimpse into their mind, with Draco it's as though he's not even there, I can't even feel him there."

There was a long silence, except for the sound of Hermione's quite sobs, until finally it was broken when Neville asked, "So the flower Draco remembered was the flower he was named after?" He waited for Severus's confirming nod before asking, "In Draco's memory he said the flower's were crying…"

Neville stopped there, unsure exactly how to phrase his question, but Severus must have gotten the just of it because he said, "The children and the flowers formed a sort of bond. If a child were hurt or killed while their flower still bloomed than the flower would wither and on those occasions usually the flower would never bloom again. If a child were healthy and happy than the flowers were vibrant and plentiful. If a child were devastatingly depressed, the flowers would droop and some would even weep. I can assume that the forest of Draco's memory is the one on the grounds of Malfoy Manor closest to the garden."

Gabriel said, "Thank you Severus."

Severus narrowed his eyes and asked, "For what?"

If Gabriel noticed the angry bight to Severus's words, he did not show it as he said, "I was not certain how Draco managed to suppress his Waylon magic for so long, and based on what you've told us, I believe I have finally discovered my answer. Many have theorized that Waylon magic is strongly tied to emotions but the truth is, a Waylon's emotions are their magic. Draco somehow managed to turn his emotions off and by doing so he essentially turned off a part of himself, the Waylon part."

There was a short moment of silence as they all tried to digest Gabriel's words. The three Gryffindor's jumped when the silence was broken by rapid, panicked knocking on Severus's door. Severus sighed and said, "It's probably one of the Slytherin's, wait here."

Severus got up, dropping his glass on a side table he walked to the door, his wand out. They were all surprised when Severus opened the door a crack so he could peak out, when they heard Harry's voice shout out, "He's gone!"

Burning Memories


	10. Chapter 10: Burning Memories

Burning Memories

_Author's Note, Sorry about the weird last post, I've been having some technical issues, IDK I'll figure it out, anyway, just wanted to say sorry for how long it's been taking me to update lately I've just been busy with school and work and life, also I've been trying to add more details to my stories, especially this chapter because when I first wrote it, it was like barely over a page in length and more of an outline than an actual story, so yeah._

Hermione rushed over to the door, pulling it open and out of Severus's frozen grip. When she got a good look at her obviously panicked friend she asked, "Harry, what do you mean he's gone? He was just in the infirmary, how could he be gone?"

Harry was breathing heavy and Hermione realized her friend was showing the signs of having a serious panic attack, but she couldn't worry about him right now. Harry bent double and said, "Once you guys were gone, I went back into the infirmary but when I went into Draco's room he wasn't there, I asked Madam Pomfrey and she said he was in the bathroom, so I went in to check on him but the door was locked. It took me a couple tries to get it opened, and he wasn't in there. Madam Pomfrey and I searched the entire Infirmary, he's not in there, and he's not on the map."

Hermione's and Ron's eyes widened, and Hermione asked, "Could he be in the room of requirements?"

Harry shook his head and said, "I ran over there, a couple of fourth years were using it to make out in secret, they said they'd been there all day and no one came in. How could he just be gone?"

Gabriel frowned and asked, "What map do you speak of?"

Harry pulled out the map, not even caring that Professor Snape might see it, and while Hermione unfolded it and scanned over it with critical eyes Harry explained, "The Maradures Map, it's enchanted to show the magical signatures of everyone in the castle, as long as they are in a room on the map we can see them. I checked it before, Draco still showed up even after his transition, he should be on there somewhere, he couldn't have gotten completely off the grounds this fast…"

Hermione put her hand on Harry's shoulder and said, "Breathe, we'll find him, you need to just calm down."

Harry took an obligatory deep breath, and was once again showed that Hermione was always right. Once he had managed to take one deep breath in he felt much better and continued to force himself to breath while Ron and Hermione quickly scanned over the map in an attempt to hopefully find something Harry had missed. The Golden Trio jumped when Severus said, "There are some Slytherin rooms missing from this map."

Gabriel frowned as he squinted down at the paper and quietly asked, "Where are they? We need to find Draco, and quickly. Right now he is very unstable, he's obviously starting to remember but that just means that right now he's even more vulnerable."

Severus worriedly looked at the map and after a moment of silence he said, "There's a secret stairwell here," He tapped a spot on the map to illustrate his point as he continued, "that leads directly to the reserved rooms, if he's starting to remember he's probably heading to his room."

Hermione frowned in confusion as she said, "I thought Draco shared a dorm room."

Severus nodded in confirmation and as he continued to scrutinize the map he said, "Draco chose to stay in the dorms but as the Malfoy Heir he inherited a reserved room. Draco uses the room as a getaway whenever the other snakes get a little too vicious, and he keeps all of his more valuable belongings in there because a few of the other Slytherins have the tendency to try and go through his belongings to see if there is anything they could use to their own benefits."

Gabriel gave Severus a considering looked and asked, "Can you take us there?"

Severus sighed and said, "We need to get Albus first, he's the only one other than a Malfoy who can open the door to his rooms."

Hermione tapped a dot labeled Albus Dumbledore, and said, "He's in his office right now."

That seemed to be all Severus needed to know as with a billow of his robes he turned and quickly swept out of his rooms and headed in the direction of the headmaster's office, not even waiting to see if they were following him. With that the group quickly made their way out of Severus's courter, they had to practically run just to keep the fast moving potions master in their line of sight. When Severus saw the stone Gargoyle he quickly said, "Nougat Bar." The Gargoyle jumped out of the way, and Severus rushed up the stairs, once again not bothering to check if the others were following him. When he reached the top of the stairs he did not bother knocking simply slammed the door open with a loud and resonating bang. His eyes met those blue eyes that for once did not seemed to be twinkling with laughter. Dumbledore gave him a polite smile that for once seemed rather forced before saying softly, "Please take a seat, all of you."

Severus frowned, unsettled by how the headmaster was acting, like he had been expecting him and already knew the horrifying news. He quickly stepped forward and ignoring the headmaster's request he said, "Albus, Draco is…"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and said, "Severus, I am aware of the situation, now please, have a seat, all of you."

Severus frowned, and with an angry flourish he did as Dumbledore bade, the other's, who had finally made it up the stairs, quickly took their seats and looked to Dumbledore with nervous yet expectant eyes. Once they were all situated Dumbledore looked at a large ornate clock on the far wall before saying, "Approximately ten minutes ago I was notified by Madam Pomfrey that Draco was indeed missing, and exactly three minutes ago, I received notification that an emergency Port Key had been activated. Based on the locations, where the port key was connected, it is safe to assume that Draco was the one to activate it, whether it was intentional or not is unknown. I've managed to acquire a secant Port Key that will drop you off outside of that same location, it's the best I could do with short notice. Severus, I trust you know the wards at Malfoy Manor well enough that you can get inside and locate Draco, hopefully before he has the chance to do anything dangerous."

Severus nodded and Dumbledore turned to the others, "Mr. Longbottom, I'm afraid I have to ask you to return to your dorm room, I can't allow a minor under my care to go to a dangerous and potentially hazardous environment."

Neville frowned and asked, "What about Harry, Ron and Hermione?"

Dumbledore smiled as he said, "They are Draco's bonded, if they choose to go I cannot legally interfere nor would I want to."

Neville nodded his understanding and quickly got up and left, once Neville had left the office Dumbledore pulled out a chain that had a large ornate ring with the Malfoy Crest hanging from it. Dumbledore said, "This will take you to the back gate at Malfoy Manor, I assume I don't need to warn you to be careful and not to touch anything in or around the Manor unless it is completely necessary."

With that said Dumbledore held the chain out to Severus, who carefully took it without touching the ring. They all got into a circle and Severus counted to three, they all reached in and place a finger on the ring. They all felt the familiar pull at their naval and then they were spinning so fast they lost all direction. When the spinning finally stopped and their feet touched back down onto solid ground, The Golden Trio couldn't stop from collapsing onto the hard ground which was softly padded with loose dirt and grass. Severus staggered a bit but managed to stay on his feet and Gabriel looked like nothing had happened at all.

It was a few minutes before the Golden Trio managed to get enough of their bearings enough to stand up and slowly make their way to the back gate of Malfoy Manor, which Severus was already standing in front of. While the front gate was elaborate and obviously intended to show off their wealth, the back gate was simple wrought iron the impossibly tall privacy walls on either side were covered in all sorts of fauna that had to be magical in origin.

Severus had his wand out and was muttering under his breath as he pointed towards the metal, and as they looked on they realized that although the could see through the bars they could not see anything past beyond. Hermione whispered, "The Malfoy family wards are rivaled only by Hogwarts, I doubt even Severus could alter them enough for us to enter if he weren't technically the head of house."

Harry turned and asked, "What?"

Ron explained, "Lucius can't hold the title as long as he's in Azkaban and Draco is underage, since Severus is Draco's Godfather he holds all of the Malfoy's inheritance and titles in trust until Draco comes of age, if something happened to Draco though, the Malfoy titles would move on to the closest of kin, but I'm not sure who that would be."

Severus did several complex wand movements and then one of the gates opened with a very loud and eerie squeak. Severus sagged a bit as though he was exhausted and he jumped when Gabriel placed a hand on the bare skin of his wrist. Severus looked like he wanted to rip his hand away and snarl an insult but Gabriel cut him off by saying reasonably, "Right now you are the only one who even has the slightest idea where we are going, I would not have you at anything less than your best, for Draco."

Severus eyes narrowed in mistrust but he refrained from voicing his mistrust or pulling out of Gabriel's grasp, after a minute even the Golden Trio could notice that Severus looked less pale, they hadn't even realized how sickly their professor had looked until he looked well once more. Finally after a few minutes Gabriel released his hold one Severus's wrist. Severus took one deep shaky breath, before quickly pushing forward, pushing the medal gate wider open with a loud squeak, and without waiting to see if they were following he quickly made his way inside, before he had gotten to far, Severus gasped out, "Salazar!"

Gabriel and the other quickly rushed to enter the Malfoy grounds, and when they finally got past the wards and could see the rest of the grounds, they gasped, even Gabriel looked completely surprised. The Manor was quite a long distance away, so far in fact it looked like a tiny miniature toy house, but closer to them were several building that were easily twice the size of the burrow, and even more startling was that one of the closest buildings was on fire. It wasn't just the fire that was startling, but the sound, which was almost indescribable. It was a loud screeching that was painfully loud, and although it sounded like some sort of strange magical creature, they all got the impression that the sound was somehow sad.

Severus was frozen in shock, and it took Hermione asking him softly, "Professor, shouldn't we find Draco and make sure he's alright," for Severus to shake off his surprise.

Severus quickly headed towards the flaming building and when he was almost halfway there, suddenly the shrieking stopped. Severus, who had been walking at a fast speed, paused for a secant before breaking into a full out run. The others quickly fell behind as he sprinted around the burning building, and for a moment they lost sight of him, but when they came around the bend they were both surprised and relieved to find him, but the relief quickly dissipated when they saw the figure who had the potions master's undivided attention.

Draco Malfoy look completely different than they had ever seen him. The past few days they had gotten so use to being able to read his expressions, but at that moment his face was completely blank, something they had never seen before. Before the transition his face was always covered with the Malfoy mask which seemed to drip negative emotions. Not even his eyes, which where what normally gave away what he was really feeling, showed any emotion in that moment. If they hadn't seen the faint rise and fall of his chest they might have suspected he was dead. What was even more startling, and unsettling, was that the beautiful white wings they had grown so accustomed too, where gone.

Severus was looking at Draco with sad and worried eyes, and once again it appeared he was frozen in place. Gabriel slowly walked around Severus and approached Draco from the side. Draco's eyes were slightly hazed as he stared at the flames, and he didn't seem to notice anything going on around him. Gabriel slowly reached out and gently placed a hand on Draco's bare shoulder, as Draco was only wearing a pair of infirmary pants, Draco flinched a bit at the contact but did not completely pull away. The contact seemed to be what was needed to bring Draco back to reality because his eyes finally moved from the flames as they looked up and met Gabriel's gaze. Whatever Gabriel saw in Draco's eyes, let him to whisper, "You're not alone."

With those words Gabriel pulled Draco into a hug. Draco didn't not return the gesture. Gabriel ran a soothing hand down Draco's back, and for a moment the others felt a prickle of warmth, then suddenly Draco sagged in Gabriel's arms. Before any of them could start to panic, Gabriel explained, "He's alright, he just needs his rest, he's been through a very trying experience."

Gabriel quickly reposition the unconscious blond so that he could easily carry him, and the others let out relieved breaths as they saw that Draco was indeed asleep. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regular. Ron asked with wide eyes, "What the hell just happened?"

Severus said, "It appears Draco has remembered quite a bit if not all of his lost memories, he likely would have burnt the rest of the building down as well if there were not wards against fire."

Hermione frowned and asked, "Why would they put fire-wards on some buildings and not all of them."

Severus said with slightly wide eyes," There are fire-wards on this building, at least a dozen in fact."

As Severus turned to look at the flames he was not surprised when he saw they were slowly dieing down and said, "It would take an astronomical amount of magic to even start a small fire let alone a blaze that large, and I couldn't even calculate the amount of magic it would take to sustain such a blaise."

Gabriel nodded and said, "That is why we must hurry back to Hogwarts and the Infirmary, I think he pushed himself to far, and with how bad his condition was before this could be very dangerous for his health. Severus nodded and pulled out the same chain with the ornate ring dangling from it. The others hadn't even noticed he had pocketed the item. Severus said, "This will take us back to Dumbledore's office."

Hermione frowned and said, "That's impossible, port keys can only go out, not into Hogwarts."

Severus sighed and said, "Granger, this is a very ancient Malfoy Family Heirloom, it can create a two way port key from wherever a person is to the back gate of Malfoy Manor, it is one of the few relics that can actually penetrate Hogwarts wards which was why Dumbledore confiscated it from Draco his first year."

Ron snapped, "Why the hell would he have that? He could have brought all sorts of nasty things into the school!"

Severus glared at Ron and said, "Draco was using it to visit his mother without alerting his father to his presence."

Ron paled for a moment before turning Red with embarrassment and he said, "Sorry, I didn't know."

Severus looked like he wanted to make a nasty retort but Gabriel stepped closer with the bundle in his arm and reached in, stopping just short of touching the actual ring. They all forgot their quarrels momentarily as they realized the priority right then was to get Draco to the infirmary. Hermione counted to three and they all placed a single finger on the ring. When they arrived in Dumbledore's office, the headmaster himself was still sitting in the exact same spot. The Golden Trio had once again collapsed to the floor, and Severus staggered over to one of the chairs and collapsed into it. It was a couple minutes before they all gathered their bearing enough to notice that Gabriel and Draco where gone. When they started to look around in panic Dumbledore said, "I expect Gabriel rushed out so quickly so he could get Draco to the infirmary. I think when you are all feeling a bit better you should head to bed, Draco will likely be asleep for a long time, and you all look like you could use a good night's rest, you can go see Draco in the morning."

Drawing Hearts


	11. Chapter 11: Popped the Cork

Draco Malfoy lay stretched on top of the white sheets of an infirmary bed, staring at the infirmary ceiling, breathing in the air that was tainted with pain but covered with vile smelling potions. H vaguely took note of these things, a part of his mind was trying to connect the dots, trying to put the still fuzzy pieces of the puzzle together to get a clear image, but that was a distant part of him. A part he nearly had silenced.

Right now his mind was drifting, and instead of allowing it to settle on something he wasn't sure he was ready to handle, instead of letting himself think of something that might even trigger a memory of an emotion, he thought about the little book of muggle fairy tales he had at the bottom of his trunk. He found himself wondering if there were any hints of truth in any of those stories. He knew the dwarves were all wrong, the dwarves would have likely eaten the stupid princess, or tore her apart and used her bones to create treasures. He really found the one of Cinderella just hilarious, truly, did muggles buy into the whole fairy-godmother bit. Then again perhaps Cinderella had stumbled upon some senile witch who felt bad for her so did a little magic, but the whole nonsense about midnight, and why would everything but one _glass shoe_ disappear. If Draco hadn't already known, he would have deduced it from their silly fairy tales that. Muggles. Were. Stupid.

Draco wasn't sure how much time had passed when he noticed that a man, who although appeared familiar, Draco still couldn't place his face, was approaching his little corner of the infirmary with the Golden Trio nervously following him. He was more than a little surprised, he definitely hadn't expected his first visitors of the day to be anything but the snake variety. Even more surprising than their arrival was the fact that Draco found himself suppressing emotions that weren't entirely negative towards the lot. In fact a small part of him wanted to smile! An actual smile, one of happiness.

Draco shook his head to try and clear it of such nonsense, while also trying to make it look like he was just trying to get is hair off his face. Both actions would have had his father frowning but at least the second one wouldn't have angered him as much. Something in him inside twisted and he felt like he might be sick, but he hid it as he asked in a voice that lacked most of his usual Slytherin charm. It barely had a hint of snark, something was clearly very wrong with him, that was why he was in the Infirmary, "Can I help you?"

The stranger raised an eyebrow, Granger looked terribly worried as she pursed her lips. Weasley was looking back towards the door like he wanted to leave and Potter, well Draco didn't really want to look at Potter, he knew better now, at least he would like to think so. Potter just pulled emotions out of him like he supposedly pulled that sword from that stupid hat, except he did it on a regular basis, just by being present and Draco hated how much he hated that. He wasn't suppose to feel anything, sure hate could be buried a bit easier than some other emotions but it was still a stupid emotion he needed to rid himself of if he ever planned to become a proper head of house.

If. He suddenly felt like the cap had been pulled off the bottle and his emotions were just bursting forth. The stranger was suddenly way to close to him as he put a hand on Draco's shoulder and asked, "Are you alright Draco?"

Draco felt his magic, and even though he could tell the guy was just trying to be comforting, it set Draco's teeth on edge, people who used magic like that tended to have another agenda. He jerked from the man's grasp and snarled with more venom then he even thought he was capable of, "Don't touch me!"

The man looked utterly taken back, and he held his hands up as if in surrender. Weasley winced and said, "Geeze Malfoy, he was just trying to help you."

Draco glared, and he felt as if the room got a lot hotter all of a sudden as he said, "Yes, well maybe I should be the one helping all of you. See that behind you. That's the door. I'm sure there is someone else outside of it who might actually fall over themselves to get _help_ from your lot, now why don't you bother one of them."

Weasley looked like he wanted to start an altercation, he might have even if Granger hadn't grabbed his arm and then said, "So we want to help you, why is that something to get angry over? You've been through a lot, and everyone needs help every now and then."

Draco snorted and said, "My Granger, you must tell me. Is ignorance really bliss? Are you sure you weren't suppose to be sorted into Hufflepuff?"

"You always were the sort of child to lash out when you were upset."

Draco's head whipped around back to the other doorway that lead to Madam Pomfrey's storeroom, and felt something inside of him shift. Like he was able to put a bit of sticking potion around the hole that was seeping out his emotions. It was enough for him to get a bit of control. Severus was a never changing fixture in his life. Even when everything else had gone pear shaped, Severus…

Everything had gone pear shaped. Dear Merlin, all those years teasing Potter because he didn't have parents and now here he was. Lucius in a dead man's sleep and Mother in an early grave, right next to all those child graves. Whatever sort of grip he thought he had on his emotions was all an illusion, because in that moment he was beyond overwhelmed. Salazar, he couldn't even breath, they were just so overwhelming and he couldn't remember how to turn them back off.

Something had happened and they were all lose and out and he had spent so many years wrestling them individually into their little corners where he could block them out, but now they were all free and roaming around in the light and he just couldn't _breath_. He faintly heard the others talking, heard Severus say something to him, before the lack of oxygen in his lungs took effect and he was finally overcome by blessed darkness.


	12. Chapter 12: You are or You are not

Draco Malfoy debated sending an owl to inform his Slytherin entourage that he was in the Hospital Wing. He debated sending an owl to his dear uncle Severus, telling him that whatever had happened, whatever insanity had gripped him, well it had passed and he was once more every bit the Malfoy he had been raised to be. Except then he wanted to cry and send a letter to the odd stranger that a part of him screamed was family, or better yet why not send a letter to the Golden Trio, who a part of him suddenly considered friends, which was just wrong, because Draco Malfoy didn't make friends, he bought them, and they never included anything Gryffindor in nature.

He wasn't sure what he would have finally decided upon, because suddenly Madam Pomfrey had entered his room with a worried expression and said, "Good, your awake! Do you feel alright? You have some visitors, I had them wait outside, wanted to make sure you were up to it before I let anyone in here."

Draco shrugged and said, "I feel perfectly fine, in fact, I see no reason why I shouldn't be out and on my way."

Madam Pomfrey winced and said, "How about you talk with Gabriel and Severus for a bit before you go making any decisions about your health."

Before Draco could ask who Gabriel was, Madam Pomfrey stepped back out of the room and a few minutes later the stranger he recalled from before entered, followed cautiously by Severus. So perhaps the stranger was this Gabriel person. The man paused and frowned when he got to the foot of Draco's bed, and Severus glanced up at his face before taking one of the chairs gathered around his bed and taking a seat. Draco bowed his head slightly and said, "Severus, what is it that Madam Pomfrey thinks you are best to speak with me about?"

Severus glanced to Gabriel and then asked, "Draco, do you recall any of your time here in the infirmary in the past weeks?"

Draco felt his stomach shift uneasily and he said, "Not entirely, why?"

Severus looked to Gabriel once more, and this time his eyes seemed to be slightly pleading. Gabriel sighed and took a seat across from Severus. He took a deep breath and asked, "Draco, did your parents ever tell you about the Waylon egg they acquired some time before your mother became pregnant with you?"

Draco fought back a sudden surge of bile and said in a voice that was too quite, to nervous, a voice his father would have deeply disapproved of, "No."

He glanced to Severus who said, "As you know, I was your mother's med-wizard and she had a terrible time while pregnant with you, in fact if it were not for the egg, she would have likely miscarried you like she had all her previous children."

Draco felt his throat tighten and he said simply, "I was unaware of that."

Severus pursed his lips and said, "Well I never felt such things were worth mentioning, but after what has transpired of the last few weeks I have come to the realization that you should have been aware of the fact and even the slight chance that you may carry on the attributes of the egg. As it stands now, I can only hope you will take my advice and try to accept your Waylon heritage, and as much as I despise Gryffindors, I would request that you try and keep with the bond of friendship the three made in an attempt to save you. I was never aware of how much emotion you were suppressing and although that is admirable and praised in the Slytherin house, it will not do you any good with your new heritage."

Severus seemed drained, and many times it had appeared as though it had pained him to speak, now that he had fallen silent he slouched and looked as if he were prepared for Draco to throw a tantrum, which Draco had to admit was something he might have done, if everything weren't suddenly changed. Draco closed his eyes and asked, "Are you saying, Severus, that I somehow inherited some Waylon magic?"

Gabriel sighed and said, "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that child, you either are a Waylon, or you are not, and in your case you fully are, you even went through a transition that was excruciatingly painful. I know to your mind I might just be a stranger at moment, but your heart and your emotions will be telling you I am family, as In order to save you, I created a bond with you. One of family, and I intend to do everything in my power to protect you child."

Draco opened his mouth, and after a moment he was able to say, "I think I would like some time alone, to process this information you have given me."

Severus looked faintly hurt, but Gabriel smiled and gently ushered the Slytherin from the room. Draco sagged back into the bed and wondered what in the name of Merlin he had done to piss of the Norns.


	13. Chapter 13: Still Draco Malfoy

"A Waylon."

Draco shook his head, he had been trying to wrap his head around the situation for some time now and as it grew later in the day, he just wanted more and more to not be surrounded by the silence of the room. Part of him wanted to somehow get the stranger or the golden trio into the infirmary and feel those strange ties he had felt, the ones he had tried to ignore, but he decided that was a terrible idea and instead after first getting the evil madam's permission, he wrote a letter to a few of the snakes he trusted and told them he was in the hospital wing, he also might have ordered Blaise to bring him his books and Pansy to bring his homework, but that was a pure snake power play.

The letters had only been free for perhaps twenty minutes when the two snakes came barging in, panting and looking both terrified and excited. Pansy squealed at the sight of him and said, "Draco! Your okay! Your okay right?"

Draco rolled his eyes and asked, "Did you bring my homework?"

Pansy pouted her lips, but seemed to be reassured that he didn't sound like he was in any pain. Blaise just frowned and asked, "Why aren't you wearing a shirt, and did you get a couple potions and spells to give yourself an edge with the ladies?"

Draco snorted, "Please, like I needed a potion, but it's a long story, one I can't tell, as for my shirt, the mad woman commandeered it and will not allow me another, I think she has been ogling this fine specimen."

Pansy snorted and said, "Wow Draco, you must be feeling better whatever happened at least, anyway I have most of your homework prepared for you, in the hopes that you just decided to take an unscheduled vacation, Blaise refused to grab your books so I have those for you too, Madam Pomfrey says we can't stay long so let me just tell you a few of some of the juiciest bits of gossip…"

By the time Pansy and Blaise left Draco knew he had made the right decision, he was still Draco Malfoy, even if he was a Waylon, even if he was a magical creature and therefore no longer pureblood, he could handle this, but maybe he could talk to that stranger, see what this Waylon business was all about, just so that he knew what all he was getting into. It was the Slytherin thing to do, it wasn't just because he really felt like even though he had just spent nearly an hour with what before he would have easily said were his two best friends, relative considering that friendship in the snake pit was always a bit more selfish, still he had spent a good chunk of time with his friends and he felt lonelier than ever. He managed to be able to hold off another thirty minutes before asking the Madam if the man named Gabriel was about anywhere and if he could be reached, if he would stop in so Draco could have a word. Draco always tried to be nice to the women who ran medical places and libraries, otherwise they always were out to get you.

He had only just laid back down completely on his bed in his own room in the Infirmary when the stranger arrived with a smile and Draco felt himself immediately go on edge, somehow he guessed this wasn't going to go as expected.

_AN: Sorry it's short, just trying to get back into the swing, already trying to pick up the next chapter_


	14. Chapter 14: Never Alone Again

"How are you feeling Draco?"

Draco tried to analyze this stranger standing before him. He tried to figure out what angle he was playing or what kind of person he was. Draco was even better than his father at deducing what made a person tick, and what were their strengths, but more importantly what were their weaknesses. Still no matter how he looked at this stranger he couldn't seem to get anything. Finally Draco sighed and said, "I didn't ask for you to have some sort of deep conversation, I just simply want to know what I should expect with this whole Waylon bit."

The man raised an eyebrow and asked, "So you know nothing about your heritage?"

Draco had to fight back his anger, and finally said in a strained voice, "Look, it's not really my 'heritage' now is it? Both of my parents were regular witches and wizards, the fact that I inherited this particular strain of creature is just unbelievable."

The man sighed and said, "What I find unbelievable is that you do not find such a gift as just that, a gift. It has been nearly a century since a Waylon was born, since one experienced a transition. Waylon's are healers, are pacifiers, but they are powerful, and some cultures believed we were angels. Sent from heaven to bring peace and prosperity, and we do. People feel at ease around a transitioned Waylon, they feel like their fears and worries are less demanding. More importantly, at least to you, when a Waylon accepts themselves, when they use their abilities to heal others, to make peace, they will feel the effects they have on others. If you accept your bonds, you will never feel alone again."

Draco felt his emotions stir at that last comment. Even when his friends had been here, even when he had been interacting with them and doing all of the things he had always thought should make him happy, he still felt alone. He felt like a part of him was missing. Now he tried to think back to a time where he didn't have this terrible feeling clawing at his gut, and he couldn't remember one. Sure there were one or two times his mother had expressed how dear he was to her, and that had seemed to help, but even when she was doing everything she could to show her love she had still seemed so sad, like Draco just wasn't enough to make her happy. Nothing he had ever done had made her want to continue living.

Before Draco felt the first tear dampen his trousers, he felt an agonizing pain in his back, and suddenly he was surrounded in white feathers, feathers that felt familiar. The stranger, Gabriel he had said his name was, sat down next to him and took his hand. With the contact Draco felt that bond, the one that had felt like a tiny frayed string, suddenly strengthen and thicken until it felt like a tangible rope, a virtual lifeline in his well of misery. Gabriel pulled him closer, cradling Draco, wings and all to his chest as he whispered, "I know it hurts, and I know you just want to lock the pain away, but you can never heal a wound if you do not let it see light; let it be cleaned and sown up so that you can finally begin the process of becoming whole. I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to make sure you are never let alone, and once you accept your heritage, however unthinkable that may seem, I am certain I will not be the only one that wants to see you happy and smiling."

Somehow, those were the right words, the words Draco needed to hear, because suddenly he stopped fighting his emotions and let them lose. It was painful, and the sobs racked his body like he had never felt, but when he was finished, when Gabriel was tucking him in because they had stolen what little strength he had, for the first time since Draco had seen his mother's rotting corpse soaked in blood in the bath, he didn't feel like he himself was rotting. He didn't feel like in a world full of people he was suddenly utterly alone.

As Gabriel tried to make him comfortable, and as sleep began to take it's hold on him, Draco whispered, "My mother left a note, left it for me since she knew I would be the one to find her. She said she was so sorry, but that she just couldn't handle the loneliness anymore. Said that she had kept all of the emotions bottled up because she didn't think anyone could ever understand how she could feel so sad and alone when she had a doting husband and a beautiful son. She begged me to forgive her and not to judge her. The whole time I read it, I just kept thinking, why didn't she just tell me. Because no matter how hard she pretended to be happy, I could always see the loneliness in her eyes, just like I always see it in my eyes when I look in the mirror. I thought, maybe if she had just been open with me, if we had ever talked about anything that wasn't entirely superficial, then maybe we both could have felt like we were not the only ones in a crowd, that we weren't entirely alone in a world full of people. For a long time, I considered following her footsteps, but I was so afraid that such an act would force me into an eternity of sadness, of loneliness. I don't want to be alone."

As Draco's eyes fell closed and his breathing slowly evened out, Gabriel kissed his forehead and said, "I'll never let you be alone again, I swear it on my very magic little one."

_AN:I know, its another short one, forgive me!_


	15. Chapter 15: Bonds?

Draco woke slowly, but as he did, he felt secure in the decision he had made when he felt a gentle kiss to his forehead. He hadn't told anyone what had happened before, he had vaguely told Severus that his mother had committed suicide but he had kept the morbid details to himself. He had also kept his emotions and feelings to himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust his godfather, although the man was the head of the snakes, but mainly he didn't really think Severus thought of him as anything more than one of the less annoying students. The man had never really expressed any interest in Draco as an individual, everything they ever talked about was either potions or occasionally what was the best way to approach a situation in the snake pit.

Draco didn't know Gabriel very well, but after opening up to him, and realizing that he had seemed to know so much about him, he decided perhaps it was time he change his perspective, to change his outlook. Specifically it was time he accepted who and what he was, and also the bonds. The more he focused on them, the more they felt like a spark of warmth in his chest. When Draco opened his eyes, Gabriel was sitting on a chair next to his bed, reading an ancient tomb of some sort. Before Draco could think of something, anything, to say, Gabriel asked, "Are you feeling better this morning?"

Draco took a deep breath and said, "Surprisingly I do."

Gabriel smiled and said, "I'm afraid that Madam Pomfrey has changed her mind, it looks like you will not be free of the infirmary today, but then again I doubt you would wish to leave even if she had not changed her mind."

Draco frowned and moved to sit up, and that is when he felt a surprising weight on his back, and felt the oddest sensation of tingles run through his feathers. Draco twisted and turned and finally was able to get a good grip on them. They felt softer than down against his hands, and for the first time he began to wonder how his father could despise something so soft and wonderful. Gabriel smiled and said, "I remember the first time I felt my wings, mine are oddly dark for a Waylon, but my tribe took it as a blessing. Sadly most of them died off before I was old enough to get my new feathers. I think the only thing that helped me survive the loneliness I felt back then was the prophecies my tribe told me before they passed. They spoke of how one day, when all hope for our kinds had long since died, that a young Waylon would be born who would need the guidance of an older Waylon with dark wings. They said that the young Waylon could finally bring about the peace and prosperity that Waylons naturally strive for and that his transition would be the transition of the wizarding world."

Draco blinked owlishly and said, "I'm sorry, I don't think I follow you."

Gabriel suddenly appeared as though he was wakening from a dream, and he smiled sadly, "Perhaps it is too soon to speak of such things, for now how about we speak of what you would like to accomplish today."

Draco nodded, and said, "I want to learn about my heritage."

Gabriel smiled and said, "I hoped you would, I brought this book just in case you said as much, it's in a old dead language. I hope you do not mind me reading it to you?"

Draco shook his head and sat up a bit, "I want to know."

Gabriel nodded and turned to one of the first pages, "In the darkest of times, before the first wizarding book was ever written, when the first wand was ever created, the world was in utter chaos. Humans were dying, one way or another and they were without hope. Then one child, appeared within the chaos, and the fighting and madness stopped. The child was the first Waylon, and he was completely alone, then in the midst of the reined in chaos, the child transitioned. Those around the child could hear how lonely he was in his cry, and they swore they would protect what they all thought was some powerful entity sent from the heavens. It is believed that the people saved the young Waylon, by making vows to protect him, to care for him, to be his friend. Later, one of the witches who had originally made a vow of friendship became his wife, and their vow changed to that of a mate."

Gabriel took a breath and Draco quickly spoke up, "Wait, what does that mean? Didn't you say that the golden trio made a vow of friendship to me? I'm not going to suddenly be mated to Granger?"

Gabriel raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did you assume if you were going to be mated to Granger?"

Draco gulped and said, "That was just the absolutely worst thing I could think of, but I know logically any species would die out if the males didn't mate with the females."

Gabriel laughed then and said, "Do not worry young one, a friendship bond can only be made into a mate bond if both parties wish it and both parties acknowledge they want one. Also both parties have to be magically and sexually compatible; there have been a number of Waylon who mated with the same sex."

Draco blushed brightly and asked, "What made you bring that up?"

Gabriel shook his head and said, "Draco, I have been around for a _very_ long time, I know the signs, it is nothing to be concerned about."

Draco cleared his throat and said, "Okay, so I guess I'm not so curious about the back story, just more so about what all this bond stuff even means."

Gabriel smiled and said, "There has always been a shroud of mystery around the bonds a Waylon makes after their transition. The truth is, not even this book will tell you exactly how the bonds work, only that without bonds a Waylon will perish, but with strong bonds, a Waylon becomes stronger."

Draco nodded, but then he frowned and stated, "You said bonds, as in plural."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Yes, the bond between you and I will help you, but if the 'golden trio,' as you dubbed them, were to break their bonds with you entirely, you would be hard pressed to make a bond before you started to become ill. It takes more than a familia bond to keep a Waylon healthy."

Draco started nibbling on his fingernails. He knew his parents would be horrified by his habit, and he hid it well, but this was a terrifying prospect. He couldn't rely on the golden trio, he might have been able to if he still couldn't remember anything, but now he did. He remembered how Potter had refused his offer of friendship, and then ever after they had been enemies. He didn't know which of them he had disliked the most. Granger with her always knowing the answers and flaunting it, making him look bad. Weasley with his insults and his horrible family that always joined in the insults, even before they came to Hogwarts Draco had known never to trust the rude red heads destined for Gryffindor. The answer was probably Potter though, not just because he spurned him so early on, but because he always was the best at everything and everyone adored him. Everyone _wanted_ to be the legendary Harry Potter's friend while Draco had to bribe and threaten to get the snakes to even just respect him. No matter how hard he tried he could never make friends with anyone the way Potter had made friends with Granger and Weasley.

Gabriel must have seen some of the emotions that Draco was not bothering to hide because he said, "I know you have history with them; that you were not friend with them before, but you must understand, they are good people, and the bonds would not have taken, would not still be there, if they did not mean it when they swore they would be your friends for as long as you need it."

When Draco just continued to bight his nails Gabriel sighed and said, "Perhaps after you have a nice full breakfast, things will seem less bleak. It's hard to be positive when your hungry."

Draco nodded and said, "your right I am hungry."

Gabriel smiled and said, "I'll get Madam Pomfrey to bring you breakfast, and maybe, if your feeling better about all this after, we can invite the 'golden trio' to the infirmary to hash all this out. It is the only healthy option."

Draco's response was to rip a part of his nail off, and Gabriel just smiled before heading out of the room. Draco decided that this was not going to be pleasant, but it didn't look like he had any other options really.

_AN: A bit longer one, still kind of short, forgive me! Also my goal is to finish this story! I will I will I will!_


	16. Chapter 16: Hashing It Out

Draco Malfoy was raised to be the perfect Malfoy. Never speak out of turn when mother and father were having guests over. Children were meant to be seen, in the most expensive designer robes without a wrinkle or speck of dirt, but they were never meant to be heard unless called upon to state all their many positive qualities. Never admit to anything less that perfection. Never show up for anything even a second late and always be impeccably put together, nothing but minty breath and shiny shoes. He was taught that classical music on the piano was acceptable even encouraged, but never to play something more modern or heaven forbid muggle. Always follow the etiquette guide book (and yes it was an actual book, one his father gave him for his fifth birthday). Excel at every class your parents spent a good fortune to get the finest teachers for, from horseback riding lessons, to business lessons, to lessons on anything his father could possibly imagine. Always speak of your parents as though they are your role models, and never backtalk or question your father. More than all of those things he had been taught never to show emotion, never to cry or laugh with true mirth instead of just as a calculated response.

Also he was taught that the truth, the whole truth, was not something a Malfoy or a Slytherin did. Sometimes they said something that had a grain of truth, so that people believed the lie it was attached to, but never tell the whole truth, especially if it might lead to revealing your motives. Once others learned your motives you became predictable, and predictable people became pawns. Oh yes, Draco also was taught how to excel in chess as well. He had never made the mistake of complaining about how over taxing it was to have so many lessons. At least not since he was a very young boy and had been thrown from a horse for the first time.

His father had been so furious he had locked Draco in one of the Manor closets and had not let him out for the whole day. Then he had gave him a healing potion and sent him to bed without supper. Of course he learned that taking a healing potion on an empty stomach was a ghastly ordeal, he had been sick for three days after. It didn't help that Draco for some reason always had a slight resistance to healing potions, so his broken arm didn't mend entirely until his mother finally convinced his father to let her take him to a private healer. His father somehow managed to convince them all that Draco must have been so embarrassed by his blunder with the horse that he snuck into one of his father's potions cabinets and stole the potion. Then Draco tried to hide away so that his parents wouldn't notice. His mother and the private healer had believed it whole heartedly and his mother had grounded him for a month for scaring her and making her miss her weekly tea with the other pureblooded women she associated with.

The sad part was, that incident had not been the worst he could remember. Sometimes, normally when his father had learned some new way Draco had not been the best at something, or when his father had been on his second glass, he would be so cruel and hurt Draco so much, that Draco began to doubt if he truly cared. The problem though wasn't the neglect or the cruelty, it hurt him more than he could ever say because he had always just wanted his approval, but then there would be moments, when his French teacher said he was more fluent than some French children, or when his piano teacher said he had surpassed him in skill, his father would smile, would buy him some new trinket, then pat him on the back so gently he barely felt it. It never failed that when his father was the cruelest, all Draco could think of where the nights he tucked him into bed, when he read him one of his favorite stories and kissed his forehead.

Draco tried not to think too much about such things, but Gabriel had left to go find the golden trio and all Draco could do was think. He had started out just contemplating what the odds where that he could hash things out like Gabriel kept insisting without touching on emotions. Then his mind had taken a turn and now he felt like he couldn't just get his mind off it. He hated himself for letting his mind even consider that his father had been, as the muggles called it, abusive. That just couldn't be the case. It was as that thought crossed his mind that Gabriel and the others walked in, and they could feel the pain and tension like a tangible thing.

Draco hadn't heard the door open, so when Granger asked softly, "Are you thinking about you mother?" well it nearly scared him to death.

He must have jumped a foot, but none of them laughed, none of them mocked him. Draco almost lied, almost said yes, but Gabriel had told him that lying to someone you were bonded with would only strain the bond, and Draco didn't want to start this ordeal off on the wrong foot, so he said, "My father actually."

Granger blinked owlishly as she said, "Oh… I just thought… well…"

Gabriel stepped in and said, "They were not trying to pry, but when you are feeling strong emotions you project them, it is common for newly transitioned Waylons."

Draco had already been curled around his knees, but with that news he curled a bit tighter and said, "Oh, sorry, didn't know I was doing that."

Gabriel smiled and said, "you do not have to apologize for feeling something Draco, it is only natural. Now do you want to talk about what your thinking about or would you rather hash things out with your bonded?"

Draco frowned and said, "Neither sounds very pleasant but I think the second option would probably be best."

Gabriel nodded and gestured for the other to have a seat, then he said, "Now I know I am probably just a third party in all this, but I think in some cases a third party that isn't aware of all the happenings is a good mediator. I hope I am not needed but I would like everyone to be heard. Now you all have expressed skepticism that things can be worked out enough to be true friends, but since you are all here I assume you are willing to give it a try, so do any of you have an idea of where to start. Perhaps one of you could tell me why you have never been friends before."

There was silence for a moment, but then Weasley said hesitantly while looking at the ground, "Well, he's kind of been a git since I met him, always making fun of my family and stuff. Always picking fights with us and the names he's called Hermione are just cruel. He botches our potions, has pretty much done everything he can to make life harder for us."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Alright, Draco, why don't you start by explaining why you did those things."

Draco wanted to do anything but just that, but again, it didn't appear he had options so he stated, "Well I made fun of his family because his father and mine didn't get along, and because when I first met him and his two infuriating twin brothers, they called me a prissy rich kid and one of them pushed me into the punch table, causing punch to spill all over me. My father was furious at me for making a scene and distracting everyone from him."

Draco paused then, still staring down at his bare toes. He didn't know how to explain how he had held a grudge since that point for the red head. Once he stopped relating the story though, Weasley suddenly gasped and said, "Wait, that was you Fred and George were teasing. I almost forgot about that, I always thought that was a girl."

When Draco glanced up to glare at him he quickly tacked on, "No offence, I just distinctly remember the other kid being really small and petite with longer hair. I barely even remember that day, I just remember feeling bad because she... I mean you... well you looked so…"

"Terrified?" Draco supplied, he could distinctly remember that feeling, that had just been a few days after he had finally recovered from when his father found out he had fallen asleep in his accounting class.

Weasley nodded and asked, "So that was really you?"

When Draco returned his gaze to his feet and simply nodded, Weasley swallowed and asked, "You couldn't have gotten in too much trouble though, I mean it was our fault."

Draco had to take a deep breath before he stated, "Yes it was yours and your two cruel brothers fault, but have you also forgotten how you and your brothers ran off so when my father came over he thought I had intentionally knocked into the table, he assumed I had somehow gotten into the adult punch. It didn't help that I was covered in said adult punch. So after that I decided that what my father said had to be true, at least that got me through…" Draco stopped there and changed thoughts, "Anyway after that I made sure to make my opinion of you and your family known, and yes I will admit that I got satisfaction from seeing your hurt expression. You and your brothers had hurt me so I thought it was only fair to return the favor tenfold, as my grandfather use to say."

Draco didn't look up so he didn't see the slightly downcast expression on Weasley's face, but when Weasley was too busy contemplating how that played into every fight they had ever had over him and his family, Granger and Potter were still thinking of the other things. It was Granger who finally asked, "Why did you call me such mean names? What did I ever do to you?"

Draco sighed and said, "Besides plain guilt by association, since you were friends with Weasley who I already held a grudge against for the above reason, and Potter, who I held a grudge against because he spurned me and all but spit on my sincere offer of friendship. There was the fact that you were a bit of a know it all, and corrected me on my pronunciation of spells _twice_ in front of the other snakes, which besides making it harder for me to keep my place as prince of Slytherin, also made it harder for me at home because obviously that news got back to my father, who was already furious at me for not being the best in every class."

Granger gapped for a moment then said, "But none of that was my fault! I mean I studied and worked so hard to be the best in class. I deserved it! And if you can dislike me for association then I had just as many reasons to dislike you, Pansy insulted everything about me the first day of school."

Draco frowned and said, "You did tell her that she needed to take better care of her owl on the train because it looked filthy, which considering at the time she had a ground owl, one who got testy whenever she tried to clean its feathers, I probably would have insulted you for that too. Also, Slytherin doesn't do friendship like you Gryffindor lot, I don't hang out with Pansy and Blaise because I find some great pleasure in their company, and everything we do for each other is because we expect something in return. Pansy, Blaise, and I teamed up because Pansy has always been great at learning other snakes dirty laundry, Blaise was very good at intimidating since he has a horrible reputation, and I of course was the best at manipulating other snakes to do what I want, either by blackmail, threats, or if I really wanted something, bribery. Also we were all raised in strict pureblood families so we had a silent truce never to ask about family life. Ours has always been a completely different situation than you three. As for deserving it, I'm not trying to imply that I doubt that, but I hope you aren't trying to imply that I didn't study or work hard at trying to be the best in class, because I did. I knew the books inside and out weeks before school started, had even gone over them with a tutor at my father's insistence. Admittedly I probably should have spent more time reviewing before each class, but I also had to juggle all the homework for my private lessons."

Granger frowned and asked, "Private lessons?"

Surprisingly it was Weasley who responded, "Old pureblood families put their kids through a whole bunch of classes that are suppose to prepare them for high class society, mom's parents weren't quite as high class as Draco's or as rich, but she had to take about four or five classes that her parents said would get her a good husband."

Potter for the first time spoke up and asked, "What kind of classes are we talking about?"

Weasley frowned and said, "Mom never really elaborated."

Draco sighed and said, "Your mom probably took etiquette lessons, refinement lessons, dancing lessons, speech lessons, and probably one lesson to teach her something that would be of interest to the upper class. Probably either another language or something domestic like cooking."

Granger frowned and asked, "Why would they teach her how to cook when most pureblood families have house elves for that?"

Draco shrugged and said, "When a new couple gets married, they are supposed to seclude themselves from the outside world to fully consummate their vows, it is seen as a good attribute if a wife can please her husband in such cases."

Weasley looked like he might be ill at the thought but Granger still looked curious as she asked, "Then what lessons were you suppose to be taking?"

Draco wished they would change the subject, but since she asked he closed his eyes and said, "I had to take horseback riding lessons, fencing lessons, and lessons on how to train and control a hell hound over every summer, but the rest of my lessons I was expected to keep up on year round. From French and German lessons, to lessons on accounting and business, to lessons in the fine arts such as playing the piano and the violin, also I had to learn about old family magic and blood magic so that I could someday take over the Malfoy Estate. I also took etiquette lessons, refinement lessons, speech lessons, dancing lessons, not to mention all the extra little things my parents randomly wanted me to study."

Weasley asked, "Wait you were learning all that while also staying on top of school work? How do you find time to socialize, or practice for quidditch?"

Draco shrugged and said, "Time management was always expected of me as the Malfoy heir."

The golden trio were just staring at Draco, like they had never seen him before, so Gabriel stepped in and said, "I think you all have strayed a bit from the main topic."

Granger nodded and said, "Right. Okay so I get that maybe we didn't get off on the right foot, but that doesn't explain why you always botched our potions or started fights with us."

Draco sighed and said, "I had to restore my reputation somehow. After rumor spread that Potter refused my offer of friendship for a Weasley and then you corrected me in class, most of the snakes were beginning to get ideas that I was not fit to be the prince of Slytherin. Best way to convince the other not to try and steal my throne was to show them what I did to those I didn't know very well who snubbed me. Of course that didn't completely deter some of the older students, who were not about to be pacified by a few small pranks that didn't really do any physical harm, so I had to wait for one of them to make their own move. Needless to say, trust that if I truly wanted to make your lives completely unbearable, I know a few hexes or better yet some untraceable spell that would make a bat boogey hex seem like a friendly hello."

When the others stared at him in shock he asked, "You have met my father haven't you? Did you really think the man would send me into the snake pit without some knowledge of a few spells that would make every snake in there concede to my rule? It is the Malfoy way."

They were silent for a moment, but then Potter finally asked, "What about all the comments about blood status?"

Draco tensed and said, "I was just parroting my father, he made it very clear that anything less would not be forgiven."

They were silent again for a time, and then Gabriel asked, "Ron, do you have any more grievances you wish to bring up?"

Weasley shook his head and Gabriel asked, "What about you Hermione?"

Granger shook her head, and then Gabriel asked, "What about you Harry?"

Potter paused, his gaze assessing Draco, who was still staring at his toes. After a moment Harry spoke up, "I get that a lot of the things you have done were for reasons but I don't understand why, when I very first met you, you felt the need to insult Hagrid and say some terrible things. There was nobody in there besides the seamstress and I."

Draco sighed and asked, "And how was I supposed to know that the both of you were not in my father's pocket. I knew nothing about you, and frankly that is the kind of situation my Father had set up before to test me, to make sure I was behaving the way he thought I should. He would send me to some shop with my mother or perhaps even occasionally by myself, but almost always he had someone in the situation in his pocket, in fact that day he had apparently sent an owl to the seamstress for that very reason. He wanted to be sure that he could trust me to behave as was expected of me, even when it appeared there was no way for him to know if I was."

Potter frowned and asked, "Why were you so afraid of how your father would react? Everything you've said, to explain these things you have done, doesn't explain that."

Draco tightened in about himself, not noticing his wings had unfolded from behind him and wrapped around his sides like a warm downy blanket. Draco tried to think of a way to explain everything without telling just how horrible his father could be at times. Finally Draco sighed and said, "My father could be very kind when he wanted to, when he felt I deserved it, when he felt I was living up to his expectations, but he could be just as cruel when I didn't. He never used an unforgivable curse though, so I'm probably better off than some of the snakes I associate with."

Weasley said, as if to just break the long silence following Draco's words, "So my mom was right, your father did abuse you."

Granger looked close to tears as she asked, "Why didn't your mom get you away from him? Why didn't Severus?"

Draco shrugged and said, "I doubt either of them knew for certain, they might have had a few concerns but my father can be very good at hiding the truth when it suits him, and it wasn't like I was about to tell anyone. Not that if they knew that would have done any good, wizarding laws are still pretty strict when it comes to old pureblood families, that father may raise his heirs however he sees fit, and no one can interfere unless the child's life is in danger."

There was another long silence, and finally Draco said, "I am tired. Do you think we could continue this dreadful conversation later?"

The golden trio took that as their cue to leave, but as they stood up, Granger turned and grabbed Draco's hand, "I'm sorry too, I always thought we were justified in being mean to you, because you were mean back, but I see now we were wrong and you didn't deserve it. I'm sure Harry and Ron agree with me."

Said Gryffindor's nodded and Ron said, "I'll send a letter to my mom, tell her what me and the twins did, I'm sure she'll get them to apologize after she rings my neck. I think I might deserve it though, all this time I treated you like a carbon copy of your dad, but you didn't deserve it."

Harry sighed and said, "I'm sorry too, I never realized what this would all look like from your perspective."

Draco nodded and the other gave him small smiles as Gabriel ushered them out, when he came back in he said, "You know they will not judge you for being upset after drudging such things up."

Draco laughed through the sudden tears and said, "Your probably right, but some habits are hard to break and before you I had only ever cried in front of my mother."

Gabriel nodded then helped Draco get situated in the bed before pulling up the sheets and whispering, "Sleep well youngling, everything will change tomorrow."


	17. Chapter 17: Everything Changes

Gabriel had been right, the next day everything was different. The golden trio came to visit in the morning, before breakfast. They were hesitant, as though afraid whatever had happened the night before would only make things worst between them. It was a tense silence until Granger finally asked him if he had started his ancient ruins assignment, and if so if he had any idea what he wanted to do it on. By the time they had left for class Draco had felt like one of the bonds of friendship in his chest wasn't just a thin frayed piece of string but a sturdy piece of wire, still small enough that it could be improved but stronger.

The Golden Trio came to visit again after dinner, and this time Ron brought a chess board because "If I have to listen to you too blather on about school work I might as well get a match in with Harry."

Of course Draco had been so bored by that point that he found the thought of a chess game rather fun, and before he knew it he and Ron were in a heated match and Hermione and Harry had fallen into a homework assignment. Draco won the first match, but Ron won the next and the third they decided to call a draw since they both barely had any pieces on the board. When they packed up their things and left, Draco was surprised to find that another frayed string of a bond had turned into a sturdy piece of wire.

Gabriel had patted him on the head and said, "I think we both could use a bit of rest, I'll be in the bed across the hall if you need anything."

Then he had kissed Draco's forehead and Draco for the first time felt at piece with the world. He wasn't entirely alone, he had a sturdy bond with Gabriel and two strong bonds with two possible friends. The next morning, when he woke up, his wings were decidedly absent, and Gabriel was smiling as though he were proud of Draco. Draco smiled back, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime Madam Pomfrey gave him permission to wear a shirt, although she didn't say if she planned on releasing him at any point.

The golden trio visited again before breakfast and after dinner, and the proceeding went much the same as before. They interacted pleasantly, even said a few jokes, and by the time Gabriel moved to go to his bed for the night, the two bonds between Draco and two members of the golden trio felt almost tangible. Draco had just been about to fall asleep when he heard the sound of footsteps and then suddenly Harry Potter had suddenly appeared standing next to his bed with a broomstick in hand. Draco had nearly jumped out of his skin, but before he could think to get mad at the Gryffindor, Potter smiled and asked, "Want to go for a ride, the stars are shining brightly tonight?"

Draco had nodded, because he hadn't been on a broom since his horrible transition and that was the one thing he adored more than anything in life. Potter insisted he ride on the same broom, since they didn't know how Draco's magic might have changed, something Hermione had been worried about. Still after the first awkward moments, where they didn't know how to sit, Draco began to enjoy himself despite the freezing cold. By the time they touched down on the ground both of them were smiling and laughing, but then suddenly Harry stopped laughing and just smiled this goofy grin. Draco had frowned and asked, "What?"

Harry just grabbed his hand and said, "You know, if I had seen this side of you the first time we met, I would never have hesitated to shake your hand."

When Draco blushed and started to look away, Harry gently grabbed his chin and added, "And if I had seen you like this, blushing and beautiful under the pale moonlight, I probably wouldn't have cared if you were insulting Ron and Hermione."

Then Harry leaned a bit forward and placed a chaste kiss on Draco's lips. Draco's eyes went wide at first, but then he felt as though he had melted into a puddle of hormonal goo. Harry smiled as he pulled his mouth away, and still holding Draco's hand he led him back to the castle. In that moment, the bond between them swelled up to the size of a rope, and Draco decided that his father really was an idiot, because if being a Waylon, if being a magical creature, let him feel like this, than he would gladly give up everything he had ever known. The future was still a mystery but Draco felt like he was ready to face it as Harry squeeze his hand, just to let him know he was there for him.

_AN: Hope you enjoyed :D_


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